Subscribe
Follow Us
The Edmonton Oilers were oh-so-close to stealing Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, scoring with 18 seconds left in the third period to send another instant classic against the Florida Panthers to overtime.
Although it ended in disappointment — in the form of a Brad Marchand double OT goal that sends the series back to Sunrise knotted at one — the Oilers are already turning the page.
And they're still in a much better place than a year ago, when they fell into an 0-2 hole after losing Games 1 and 2 in Florida.
“At this time of year, you’ve got to move on,” said Leon Draisaitl, who scored a goal and added an assist in the loss, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. “There’s no time spent thinking about it too long. It stings right now, but we have to move on.”
Just like in Game 1, the Oilers took an early lead, heading into the first intermission up 3-2. But the Panthers would score twice in the middle frame, including Marchand's first halfway through the period.
Draisaitl scored Edmonton's third goal of the game with eight minutes left in the first, and they wouldn't score again until the waning seconds of regulation. And despite a couple good chances to steal Game 2 in overtime, Sergei Bobrovsky came up big between the pipes for Florida.
Marchand eventually called game on a breakaway just over eight minutes into the second overtime.
“There’s going to be some disappointment,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, per Nugent-Bowman. “But we’ve had the mentality, no matter what happens — bad game, close game, overtime, heartbreaking, easy, whatever it is – we put it behind us and we get ready for the next one. You learn in the playoffs, things don’t always go your way. Sometimes it works in your favor, sometimes it doesn’t.”
The bench boss continued: “Each game could’ve went either way. When you win the first one, you’re disappointed you don’t follow up and win the second one. But we’re going there with a split and that’s fine with us.”
Article Continues Below
Stanley Cup Final heading to Sunrise
After two absolutely terrific games in Alberta, the two juggernauts will now head southeast to the United States for Games 3 and 4. Although the Oilers lost home-ice advantage, they are putting up way more of a fight than they did through the first three contests in 2024, when they fell into a seemingly insurmountable 0-3 hole.
This looks like a series that could go the distance again, with the two teams proving they are the premier teams in the National Hockey League.
You need to have a short memory in the Stanley Cup Final, but 40-year-old Perry knows it was a missed opportunity.
“It’s a tough one to swallow, but it’s not supposed to be easy,” Perry said. “They played hard tonight. They got their chances, and they capitalized on that one. That’s the difference.”
After two days off to recover from a couple of overtime tilts, the Oilers and Panthers will do battle next in Game 3 on Monday night. Puck is set to drop from Amerant Bank Arena just past 8:00 p.m. ET.
