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Oilers vs Panthers Game 2: A Good Start |
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A year ago the Oilers played their first game of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Panthers. Edmonton outshot the Panthers 32-18, had 13 High Danger Chances at 5 on 5 to Florida's 6 and by basically every analytic and metric out there completely outplayed the Panthers.
Florida won that game 3-0.
Despite the early goal by Edmonton it felt for a time like it was going to be a similar story as Edmonton would themselves down 3-1 early in the second period despite outshooting Florida 15-8 at that time. As the game went on this Oilers team showed what separates them from the team they were last season.
Edmonton was dominated for long stretches of the second period but managed to get a goal to cut the lead to one, courtesy of an absolute clapper by Arvidsson and some excellent work by Podkolzin. Stuart Skinner may have allowed 3 goals on 8 shots but he firmly shut the door after that. Ekholm took advantage of a puck that made it's way to him and didn't hesitate to bury it past Bobrovsky.
Wrapping it all up was an absolute beauty powerplay goal in overtime by Leon Draisaitl where every single player on the Oilers PP touched the puck first, including a brilliant pass by Perry and a perfect setup by McDavid. For the first time in the past two years, the Edmonton Oilers find themselves leading in the Stanley Cup Finals.
A few fast thoughts.
Kapanen was an afterthought for much of the regular season, a player who popped into the lineup here or there and had some speed but just didn't make much of an impact. Since coming back into the lineup in the playoffs Kapanen has been one of the Oilers best energy players and has found ways to elevate his game, especially in the absence of Zach Hyman. Kapanen finished Game 1 with 2 assists, 2 shots on goal, and 5 hits.
Sam Bennett is an absolute menace. I don't think anyone believes for a moment that Bennett didn't intentionally let himself fall into Skinner on the first goal against. Bennett pulls that kind of stunt again and again and somehow always seems to get away with it. He is certainly playing like Florida's best player through the playoffs thus far and Edmonton needs to find a way to shut him down while keeping their heads up to avoid his "accidental hits."
The Panthers are showed once again what an opportunistic team they are. Look at each of their goals in Game 1; the Bennett one we already discussed that could have been called back or originally called with his hooking call against, capitalizing on the PP after the failed challenge, and a bad read which allowed Bennett to get in all alone on a breakaway. Florida is a highly skilled team and if you take your eyes off the prize for even a moment they will make you pay. Edmonton did a fairly good job in Game 1 but they need to ensure they are limiting their mistakes.
I really do not like the Nurse and Kulak pair and I think that is a pair the Panthers will keep attacking to force turnovers. Having Kulak on his off side forces him to make backhand passes and the Panthers are so aggressive in all areas of the ice. I do wonder if the call will eventually be to go to 11/7. I still am not seeing much of anything out of Trent Frederic and I think stylistically Stecher is a better fit with Nurse.
It's crazy to me how many people seem to forget that Draisaitl was playing with basically one hand in last years playoffs. Draisaitl is far healthier this year than he was last year and he clearly showed his ability to elevate in the big moments in Game 1. I also applaud Knoblauch for switching up his lineup partway through the game and have McDavid and Draisaitl together. They will start the game on separate lines once again.
Edmonton did exactly what they needed in Game 1 and I fully expect the Panthers to regroup and come out far stronger in Game 2. Edmonton needs to do what they did so well in Game 1 and weather the storm and then find their own counter attack.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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