EDMONTON, AB – Only one rat in Alberta.
After Corey Perry equalized for the Oilers with 18 seconds left in regulation, Panthers centre Brad Marchand notched his second goal of the contest at 11:55 of the second overtime period to give the defending champions a 5-4 victory in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night at Rogers Place.
Perry scored the latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history at six-on-four late in the third period, but after neither team could end it in the first overtime, Marchand would fight off a backcheck from Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway in the second sudden-death frame to slide home the winner under Stuart Skinner.
The Oilers took Game 1 on Wednesday with a narrow overtime victory, and this time, it was Florida’s turn to sneak out with the win to even the series.
“There’s going to be some disappointment, but we’ve had the mentality that no matter what happens – a bad game, a close game or whatever it is – that we put it behind us and get ready for the next one,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “In the playoffs, sometimes it works out in your favour and sometimes it doesn’t. But I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job of responding and putting whatever happens in the past to get focused on the next game.”
Despite the late rally from the Oilers, they couldn’t protect a 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the first period, allowing two goals to Florida during a one-sided second period, which included Dmitry Kulikov’s equalizer and a shorthanded goal from Marchand on another breakaway to make it 4-3 after 40 minutes.
The Oilers suffered only their second defeat on home ice in these playoffs (6-2-1) and their first loss since Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists, Connor McDavid had three assists, and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for the Oilers in front of goalie Stuart Skinner, who made 37 saves on 42 shots but couldn’t stop the last one in OT to prevent his six-game playoff win streak from coming to an end.
“We lost with 0.4 seconds left a couple of series ago. Those are tough,” Perry said. “You can go home and think about it, but tomorrow, you get some rest and get on the plane and be ready for Game 3… They’re a good team. They’re going to push us to the limit, and we’re going to push back. It’s frustrating right now, but we’re in the Final for a reason.”
Florida’s victory evens the series 1-1 heading to Sunrise for Games 3 & 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday and Thursday.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
