Draisaitl scores in OT, Oilers beat Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final
EDMONTON, Alberta — When the Stanley Cup was brought out onto the ice ahead of Game 1 of the Final—just like last year—it marked a full-circle moment for the Edmonton Oilers. This time, though, everything felt different.
“Last year, I looked at it with googly eyes,” said goaltender Stuart Skinner. “This year, it was more like, ‘I’ve been here. I’ve seen it. Time to get back to work.’ It felt completely different.”
And the Oilers made sure the game itself reflected that shift. Rallying from a multi-goal deficit, Edmonton pulled off a thrilling 4-3 overtime win against the defending champion Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, thanks to Leon Draisaitl’s clutch power play goal.
After falling behind 3-0 in last year’s series, Edmonton now holds the upper hand in this rematch—one step closer to rewriting their playoff story.
“It’s huge,” Skinner said after recording 29 saves. “The way we started, and how we just kept going even when we were down by two—it shows a lot of character.”
Draisaitl, the night’s hero, sealed the win with just 31 seconds left in overtime after Tomas Nosek was penalized for shooting the puck over the glass. It marked Draisaitl’s third OT goal this postseason, tying the single-playoff record.
“He’s invaluable,” said captain Connor McDavid, who assisted on both the tying and winning goals. “He’s clutch, dominates faceoffs, does it all.”
At first, though, it seemed like a repeat of last year’s Game 1 loss. After Draisaitl opened the scoring 1:06 into the game, Florida responded with Sam Bennett deflecting a puck past Skinner—after being tripped into him by Edmonton's Jake Walman.
Coach Kris Knoblauch challenged for goalie interference, but the NHL's situation room ruled the trip nullified the interference. That led to a Florida power play, and Brad Marchand capitalized to give the Panthers the lead.
Bennett added another goal early in the second, putting the Panthers up 3-1. Under coach Paul Maurice, Florida had been 31-0 in the past three playoffs when leading after one or two periods.
“They pushed hard,” said Marchand. “They’re a very good team, and it doesn’t take much for them to score. We’ve just got to keep battling.”
Viktor Arvidsson sparked the comeback with an early second-period goal, reigniting the home crowd. Then, with just over 13 minutes left in regulation, Mattias Ekholm—playing only his second game back from injury—finished off a slick feed from McDavid to tie the game.
Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had his moments, making a brilliant save on Trent Frederic in overtime, but he was also met with mocking chants of “Ser-gei!” after each goal he allowed.
On the other side, Skinner made several key stops to keep the game within reach, including some late third-period saves that had fans chanting “Stuuuu!” every time he stood tall.
“He was great again,” McDavid said. “He gave us a chance.”
0 Comments