Aleksander Barkov has been a critical piece of the Florida Panthers since he was drafted No. 2 overall by the franchise back in 2013. And just over a decade into his tenure in Sunrise, the Finnish superstar is on the verge of helping the Cats avenge last year's Stanley Cup Final loss and bringing a championship to South Beach for the first time ever. And Barkov's play earned him an incredible piece of praise from Wayne Gretzky on the Sportsnet panel during Game 1 on Saturday night.
“No. 16 is the best defensive hockey player I've seen since Bryan Trottier,” said The Great One. “And I got Bryan Trottier four games, and what did I get? No goals. And what did we get? No Cup. So you learn from that.”
Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers were swept by Trottier and the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, but went on to win four of the next five between 1984-88. Barkov will be looking to achieve something similar in 2024 after Florida was beaten in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights last June.
Gretzky added: “Both of those guys [Trottier and Barkov] are two great players. Barkov makes an unreal pass, and he's good offensively too, like Trottier was. Connor [McDavid]'s got his work cut out for him against this young man.”
Ahead of Game 2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night, Barkov responded to being called the best defensive hockey player in decades.
“Wow, yeah, I mean, coming from him especially it means a lot,” said the two-time Selke Trophy winner, per Sportsnet. “Everyone knows what he's done to the game of hockey, when you hear stuff, special people like him say stuff like that, it obviously means a lot. So, I appreciate that.”
Barkov was exceptional in Game 1 on Saturday night, helping the Panthers win their second ever Stanley Cup Final game. But the hero of the night was Sergei Bobrovsky, who posted a rare championship shutout against the high-flying Oilers. The Russian was masterful, stopping all 32 shots he faced and looking as dialed in as you can be over 60 minutes.
“He's just been unreal. His preparation is incredible. He's everything that you want in a teammate and especially a goalie,” Matthew Tkachuk said shortly after Game 1. “He was there for us tonight.”
Florida will look for a similar result at home on Monday as they look to hold onto home-ice advantage in the championship series.
Panthers aiming to retain home-ice advantage in Game 2
Although the Panthers earned a critical Game 1 win, they were not the better team on Saturday. The Oilers controlled play, outshot their Eastern Conference opponents 32-17, and managed three breakaways that were all turned aside by Bobrovsky.
But Florida knows it can be better in front of the home crowd in Game 2, and the squad will either need to improve — or get another lights out performance from Bobrovsky — to retain home-ice advantage before the series shifts north to Canada.
“Every win is a big win,” said the superstar netminder. “But it's a long series. So, we're going to reset, refocus and get ready for the next fight.”
And the next fight is just hours away as the Panthers and Oilers get set to do battle in Sunrise on Monday.
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