Brad Marchand may have saved the Florida Panthers' season Friday night by scoring 8:05 into the second overtime to give the defending Stanley Cup champions a series-tying 5-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Marchand, whose second-period shorthanded breakaway goal had put the Panthers ahead 4-3, took a lead pass from Anton Lundell and raced off on another breakaway. He fought off Leon Draisaitl 's efforts to slow him down and slid a backhander that trickled between the legs of Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner .
"It was a fortuitous bounce," Marchand told TNT. "We'll take it."
Rogers Place went silent as the red light went on, with many in the sellout crowd of 18,347 staying in their seats for several minutes afterward, refusing to believe what they had just seen. It was a huge contrast to the end of regulation, when Edmonton's Corey Perry set off an eruption by scoring the tying goal at 19:42 of the third period, the latest tying goal in the history of the Stanley Cup Final. The previous record was held by Tod Sloan of the Toronto Maple Leafs , who scored at 19:28 of the third period in Game 5 in of the 1951 Final.
Even more special for Marchand was that his parents were there to see it.
"These are memories you have for the rest of your life, not just for yourself but for your family," he said.
Sam Bennett , Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov also scored for the Panthers. Evander Kane , Evan Bouchard and Draisaitl had the other goals for the Oilers, who lost for the first time in five overtime games this spring.
"When you win the first one you're disappointed you don't follow up and win the second one," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "But we're going there with a split. We're comfortable playing on the road."
Skinner and Sergei Bobrovsky , his Florida counterpart, combined to allow nine goals – and yet played brilliantly. Skinner finished with 37 saves, including robberies on Marchand midway through the first overtime and again early in the second OT. Bobrovsky finished with 42 saves, the last of which came less than a minute before Marchand's game-winner when he denied Kasperi Kapanen , who was lone in front.
Marchand's OT winner kept the Oilers from pulling off their second straight comeback win and their eighth of this postseason. Edmonton overcame a 3-2 deficit entering the third period on Wednesday to win 4-3 in overtime; the Oilers trailed 4-3 entering the third period in Game 2 before forcing overtime on Perry's goal.
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"It's obviously an intense series," Marchand said. "I loved our resilience. I really liked our game tonight."
The win was vital for Florida, which improved to 9-3 on the road this spring. Teams that lose the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final series have won just five times in 55 tries.
The series moves to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Monday.
To say that the first period was frantic would be an understatement.
The opening 20 minutes saw five goals — the most in the first period of a Final game since 2016, when the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins combined to score five times. There were 25 shots on goal, 50 shot attempts, 22 penalty minutes, seven power plays and two power-play goals, one for each team. There was also a move by Connor McDavid that set up Edmonton's third goal and left his own teammates shaking their heads.
Bennett gave Florida a 1-0 lead 2:07 into the game with his Stanley Cup-record 12th goal on the road and 13th overall. The big center converted a pass from defenseman Nate Schmidt and beat Skinner from the right of the slot with Kane in the box for a careless high-sticking penalty.
Kane atoned for the penalty at 7:39, beating Bobrovsky from the left circle after a Florida turnover. Kane bobbled the puck slightly before regaining control and shooting, perhaps fooling Bobrovsky a bit.
Bouchard put the Oilers ahead at 9:19, picking up the carom after Florida's Aleksander Barkov blocked his first shot and whipping a wrister past a defenseless Bobrovsky. But Schmidt earned his fourth assist of the series by starting the play that led to defense partner Jones' goal at 11:37, a rip from the lower left circle into a half-empty net.
Bennett was penalized on a controversial goaltender interference call at 12:13 – it appeared that he was pushed by Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm into Skinner, who was knocked backwards and needed some on-ice medical attention.
Then came McDavid's highlight-reel move. No. 97 deked his way past two Florida penalty-killers before finding Draisaitl alone in the right circle, and the NHL's top regular-season goal-scorer (52) made no mistake, beating Bobrovsky at 12:37 for a 3-2 lead. How great was McDavid's move? Draisaitl insisted that he lead the handshake line at the bench, an honor reserved for the goal-scorer 99.9 percent of the time.
The Oilers missed a chance to expand their lead by failing to convert on two late-period power plays, including a 33-second 5-on-3 advantage. Florida also couldn't capitalize on a cross-checking call by Bouchard at 18:41 — and Bobrovsky had to make a superb stop on Bouchard, who came in on a 2-on-1 break after exiting the penalty box. Bobrovsky robbed the big defenseman again a minute later after McDavid sent him in alone.
The Panthers then began to dominate play, and Skinner made a handful of Grade A saves before Florida got even at 3-3 on a goal from an unlikely source. Kulikov scored his third goal in 72 career playoff games when his straightaway wrist shot from just inside the blue line went through traffic and past Skinner. Matthew Tkachuk and the two defenders trying to check him prevented Skinner from seeing the puck.
It looked like a hooking penalty to Florida's Nico Mikkola at 11:06 might slow the Panthers' momentum, and it did indeed lead to the go-ahead goal – by Florida.
Lundell was sliding on the ice near his own blue line, saw Marchand leaking out of the zone and swiped the puck ahead. Marchand took it in full stride, went in alone and beat Skinner past the left pad at 12:09 to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead. It was the first non-empty net shorthanded goal in the playoffs since Josh Manson of the Colorado Avalanche scored in the first period of Game 7 in the opening round against the Dallas Stars .
Only some heroics by Skinner kept the Oilers' deficit at one goal after two periods. The Panthers outshot Edmonton 16-7, had a 17-9 edge in scoring chances and owned an 8-4 advantage in high-danger opportunities, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Oilers had the better of play for most of the third period, but Bobrovsky's heroics and some key defensive plays by his teammates had the Panthers still in front when Florida iced the puck with 31 seconds remained. Florida won the face-off but couldn't clear the zone. Defenseman Jake Walman 's shot hit a teammate and the puck caromed into the slot, where Perry dug it out of a pile of bodies and snapped it past Bobrovsky, triggering a raucous celebration from the sellout crowd of 18,347 at Rogers Place.
Edmonton outshot Florida 13-9 in the first overtime, but the Panthers had the best scoring opportunities. He robbed Marchand on a short backhander 8:37 into the extra period, then watched as Marchand's rebound try went through his legs but off the left post. Two minutes later, Sam Reinhart had a breakaway from the red line but fired just wide past Skinner's glove.
The Oilers' best chance came on a 2-on-1 break, but a diving swipe by defenseman Gustav Forsling took the puck off Kane's stick.
The Panthers acquired Marchand from the Boston Bruins prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 and waited for him to get healthy, which didn't happen until late March. He had just two goals and two assists in 10 regular-season games with Florida, but has been increasingly productive in the playoffs, combining with Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen to form a dynamic third line.
The 37-year-old has long been known as one of the great agitators in NHL history, and he hasn't given up that part of his game. But the offensive skills that have produced 424 goals and 980 points in 1,100 regular-season games have returned. Marchand has five goals and 15 points in Florida's 18 games, including three goals in the first two games of the Final.
It was the fifth playoff overtime winner of Marchand's career. He's tied with four players, including teammate Carter Verhaeghe and Perry, for third all-time. Joe Sakic holds the record with eight, followed by Maurice Richard with six.
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The Oilers captain finished the night with three assists, including the secondary one on Perry's game-tying goal. But it was his wizardry on Draisaitl's goal that will live on highlight videos for years to come.
McDavid turned defenders Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov inside out as he attacked through the center of the offensive zone, then floated a perfect pass to Draisaitl for a goal that put the Oilers ahead 3-2.
Wayne Gretzky, who knows a thing or two about offense, told TNT's panel after the first intermission that McDavid is playing the game on a different level than everyone else.
"What he's doing differently as he gets older and more mature — we know he's the best player in the game — he's making every player around him even that much better now," Gretzky said. "That's a sign of a true superstar and that's the reason why he's the best player in the league. He's unselfish. He works as hard as any player on the ice.
"He wants to win so badly and he happens to have the best set of hands hockey has to offer right now."
The Final moves to South Florida for the next two games, and while the Panthers have to be pleased that to get a split of the first two games, they know they've got to tighten up defensively in the third period.
Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
The Panthers were 31-0 in the playoffs when leading after the first or second periods during Paul Maurice's first three seasons. That string ended Wednesday, when they couldn't keep the Oilers off the board in the third period before allowing the game-winner in overtime during a last-minute power play.
They were better on Friday, not allowing the Oilers to dominate play during the third period. But Florida still coughed up the tying goal when Perry scored after Edmonton pulled Skinner for an extra attacker.
Expect Maurice to work on locking down leads during the three-day break before Game 3.
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