The Florida Panthers stole a win in Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers in double overtime, bringing the Stanley Cup Final series count to 1-1. Noted overtime stud Brad Marchand scored the game-winning goal against Oilers’ netminder Stuart Skinner.
After dropping Game 1 in overtime (while killing off Tomas Nosek’s delay of game penalty), Paul Maurice mentioned before the game that there would be no lineup changes for his squad in Game 2.
Sam Bennett (for the Buddies)
Sam Bennett has been on an absolute tear for the Panthers this playoff run. He’s been a key piece in just about every series thus far, and has taken his upcoming contract’s average annual value (AAV) and sprinted with it. After opening the scoring of this game, Bennett cemented himself in Panthers history; that goal marked the most postseason goals on the road in franchise history. As a result, Bennett’s Benny’s Buddies program continues to receive much-needed funds that cover the adoption fees of pets at the Broward County Humane Society.
This series, in particular, has been the culmination of Bennett’s coming-out party. He is visibly all over the ice; forechecking, backchecking, setting up goals, throwing checks, you name it. He’s certainly made his case for why he deserves the $10 million AAV contract he’s rumored to be expecting from teams in states with an income tax.
Bobrovsky’s Decline Continues
Typically the steadfast pillar that the Panthers have leaned on in the playoffs in years past, Sergei Bobrovsky could not be more different this go around. His play has been wildly up-and-down all playoffs; some games, he’s locked in and impossible to beat. In other games, it looks like he couldn’t stop a beach ball. To his credit, his defense hasn’t been playing as solidly as they have in series and playoffs past. On the other side of that coin, none of them are being paid $10 million per season to do their jobs.
Related: McDavid and Draisaitl “Got the Memo”
Even though the Panthers’ success in the playoffs up to this point has mostly been by committee, their chances seem more and more to live and die with how well (or how poorly) Bobrovsky is playing that given night. Bobrovsky is not the sole reason the Panthers have faltered when they have, but he is a significant one.
Last Year’s Star Performers Mostly Absent
In the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers had several players step up and elevate their game to the next level. Players like Gustav Forsling, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Reinhart were gamechangers on a nightly basis; all of them were nothing short of pivotal in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup win last year.
This series, all three of these players are unusually quiet; Reinhart, in particular, hasn’t scored a goal since the series versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s very likely that they’re all dealing with an injury or three apiece, but their performance and production are sorely missed in this Cup Final versus Edmonton; even Aleksander Barkov has been notably absent from the scoresheet more often than normal as of late. The Panthers have, admittedly, gotten much more production out of guys like Bennett and Niko Mikkola, and trade deadline acquisitions Seth Jones and Brad Marchand have been incredible, but the Panthers’ typical superstars just aren’t shining as brightly so far these playoffs.
Looking Ahead to Game 3 and Beyond
The Panthers have been road warriors this playoff run, and this series will likely be no different. Despite dropping Game 1, the Panthers managed to steal a game in Edmonton. Now, all they need to do is win at home, and the Stanley Cup is theirs once again.
On the other hand, the Oilers very clearly still have several chips on their shoulders. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both have been nothing short of stellar two games into this series, and they’ll likely continue to be a thorn in the Panthers’ sides. Ultimately, it’s all boiling down to resilience, solid goaltending, and how well each team’s superstars can outmatch the other team’s superstars.
This series appears in every way, shape, and form to be going the full seven games. With both teams clearly battling through injuries, I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded wins back and forth until the final two games of the series. Outside of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, it has been a long, long time since two teams this evenly matched faced off for the ultimate prize in hockey. If I were a betting man, I’d say Game 3 would be yet another nail-biter between the two best teams the NHL has seen in a very long time.
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