Over 5,000 miles later, the Florida Panthers are happy to be home with a 1-1 series tie in the Stanley Cup Finals. The first road trip was fun and productive, filled with three overtime periods (3-4 in the first game and 5-4 with double OT in the second) and 166 shots split between the two teams.
No player can become too confident or relaxed in this series. Doing so will result in breakaways, turnovers, penalties, and goals. The second game highlighted all the Panthers’ strengths. They scored on the power play, penalty kill, two snapshots from defensemen, and on the breakaway in overtime. The game lead changed four times.
Returning to Florida means the Edmonton Oilers must adjust to a beautiful, humid environment, a softer ice surface, and bouncing pucks.
Sunday notes
The Oilers winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn’t skate with the team on Sunday. His status for Game 3 is a game-time decision. At this stage, neither team will disclose much health information. Another change is related to the defensive pairs. Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard were together on the top pair, Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg on the second, and Brett Kulak moved from Nurse to Jake Walman.
Lessons
Some pivotal lessons the Edmonton Oilers should have learned from Game 2 are:
1. Never leave Brad Marchand behind your backs. The Oilers gave away two breakaways to a “filthy” veteran who scored a short-handed goal and overtime game-winner.
2. Make sure Matthew Tkachuk is at least 10 feet from your goalie’s crease. Tkachuk knew what he was doing. Once he parked in front of Stuart Skinner, the Oilers’ defensemen struggled to box him out.
3. Sticks on the ice, boys. The Oilers didn’t open the scoring for the first time in nine consecutive playoff games. Evander Kane got his two-minute penalty for high-sticking Verhaeghe 23 seconds from the start of Game 2. Later on, Bouchard cross-checked his opponents twice.
Home Ice
As for the Panthers, another sold-out crowd is expected at Amerant Bank Arena. Sam Bennett recorded nine hits in the first two meetings. The hard-working forward has a strong off-ice community presence and sponsors animals at the Humane Society of Broward County. Every time he scores, a shelter pet benefits. Brad Marchand has become the most impactful player on the roster. Not only does he have three goals in the first two games, including two in Game 2, but he is the one who keeps the pressure and media attention away from the Panthers’ locker room.
Welcome to Florida! Hydrate and enjoy Game 3.