The Florida Panthers are inching ever closer to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. After relying on Sergei Bobrovsky to steal a win in Game 1, the Panthers flipped the script and mostly dominated the Edmonton Oilers to take Game 2 by a score of 4-1 for a 2-0 series lead. Here are three takeaways from the win as the series flips to Edmonton.
Panthers’ Defense Smothered the Oilers
Chances are that most of the Panthers would have told you that they needed to play better after Game 1. With how they’ve played this postseason, it was not unreasonable to think that they’d improve in Game 2. And play better they did.
Mattias Ekholm may have opened the scoring last night, but it went completely against the run of play. It’s also a goal Sergei Bobrovsky would surely like to have back. That didn’t matter much, though. Right from the opening faceoff, the Panthers looked poised for a better performance than in Game 1.
Last night was a difficult game to assess because not much of it occurred at five-on-five due to all the penalties, but the Panthers were the better team at five-on-five/even strength. It wasn’t necessarily their offensive game that impressed, either. Instead, it was how suffocating their defense was, especially against the Oilers’ top players.
Related: Evan Rodrigues Leads Panthers to Game 2 Victory Over the Oilers
The Panthers allowed only four shots on goal at even strength in the first period and just six combined over the first two frames. Even when the Oilers found their footing in the third period, they generated just one high-danger chance. That was also their lone high-danger opportunity of the game, as they did not record a single one across the first two periods.
After being a menace in Game 1, Connor McDavid was largely held in check last night, even though he had an assist on Ekholm’s goal. How many times did we hear Leon Draisaitl’s name last night, too? He had a couple chances on the power play, but otherwise, he had a quiet game.
The Panthers shutting down their opponents’ top players shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point. Led by Aleksander Barkov, they’ve done it to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers in each round of the playoffs. But the extent that they’ve kept McDavid and Draisaitl quiet so far has been impressive. I don’t think that will last forever, but it’s a significant reason why the Panthers are up 2-0 heading to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
Panthers Depth Playing Its Role
Last night showed why the Panthers should have been the favorites heading into the Stanley Cup Final. They’re just a deeper team than the Oilers. Evan Rodrigues‘ two-goal night gives him three through two games of the Final. Niko Mikkola scored a goalscorer’s goal with a one-timer off a drop pass from Anton Lundell to tie the game at 1-1.
Speaking of Lundell, he was the game’s second star, totaling two assists. After a rough regular season, he’s been one of the Panthers’ best depth players throughout the playoffs. Kevin Stenlund may not have had a point yesterday, but he won 73.3 percent of his faceoffs, some of which were in key situations.
At least to this point, the Oilers haven’t gotten any contributions from their depth players. If anything, some of them have been liabilities. Cody Ceci made way for Vincent Desharnais in Game 2 because he struggled so mightily in Game 1. Warren Foegele took himself out of the game by laying an ill-advised hit on Eetu Luostarainen that resulted in a five-minute major and game misconduct. Adam Henrique, the Oilers’ main trade-deadline acquisition, has yet to make an impact.
This is one area the Oilers can’t fix. Their depth players just aren’t as good as the Panthers’, even on defense. Look no further than the Panthers’ third defense pair of Dmitry Kulikov and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who have been miles better than the Oilers’ depth defenders. That might put the Panthers over the edge as Stanley Cup champions.
Panthers Winning the Special Teams Battle
A significant factor in the Panthers winning their first Stanley Cup would be keeping the Oilers’ power play off the scoresheet. So far, you can’t ask for much more from their penalty killers, as the Panthers have killed off all seven Oilers’ power plays through two games.
They got some luck in Game 2; the Oilers hit iron twice on the man advantage. But that doesn’t take away from the job the Panthers’ penalty killers have done. After generating 14 shot attempts and six shots on goal on the power play in Game 1, the Panthers held the Oilers to only six shot attempts and one shot on goal on their man advantage yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Panthers’ power play showed up in Game 2. There were some sloppy moments, especially early in the game when the team had a five-minute power play from Foegele’s five-minute major. But their man advantage got better as the game went on, and it eventually paid off when Rodrigues put one home to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead in the third.
The Panthers’ power play was particularly threatening in the third period, generating ten shot attempts and 0.57 expected goals. For the game, they had 15 shot attempts and generated 0.95 expected goals when on the man advantage. They deserved a goal based on how they were playing up a man.
The Panthers winning the special teams battle is a bit of a surprise. The Oilers’ power play came into the Stanley Cup Final converting on just over 37 percent of their chances. Meanwhile, their penalty kill was above 90 percent. The Panthers entered this series as the better five-on-five team, but the Oilers’ special teams were the great equalizer. If the Panthers take that away from them, this series might not go on much longer.
Quick Hits
- Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said after last night’s game he had no update on Barkov, who took a high hit from Draisaitl late in the third period. All eyes will be on his status for Game 3 and beyond. If he’s out, that could completely change the complexion of this series, so it bears watching.
- The Oilers’ power play may have not scored a goal yet, but the Panthers are giving them opportunities to do so by taking undisciplined penalties. That will need to change in Game 3 because it’s only a matter of time before the Oilers breakthrough on the man advantage.
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