Oilers expect more push from Panthers in Game 2 of Cup Final

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Edmonton Oilers were good in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers but anticipate they will have to be even better to even up the best-of-7 series.

Edmonton, which outshot Florida 32-18 in the 3-0 loss at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, is looking for a similar effort with a different result in Game 2 on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“We’re ready for any team’s push, that’s why we’re in the situation that we’re in right now,” forward Leon Draisaitl said Sunday. “We’re a really good hockey team that, believe it or not, can play better than last night. We have more, we know that we can play better. They’re going to be better and I expect us to be better as well.”

The Oilers outshot the Panthers 12-4 in the first period and 13-8 in the second but were down 2-0 going into the third because they were unable solve Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who collected his third career playoff shutout. It was the first time Edmonton was shut out in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I think it’s encouraging in some ways the way that we played,” forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “Obviously, you want to stack up as many wins as you can as early as you can in a series but it’s a best-of-7 and it’s a race to four. I thought we did a lot of good things last night, we couldn’t find a way to beat them, but at the same time, we can wake up have a good day here and stay confident within our group.”

Edmonton has taken pride in its ability to bounce back in the playoffs this season. The Oilers have lost consecutive games just once, dropping Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. They responded by winning the next three games to clinch the series in six games and advance to their first Final since 2006.

“I think it’s been a great trait of ours throughout the whole season, our ability to bounce back, even period to period sometimes,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Of course, you’re going to go through tough stretches through the season and it’s how you respond to that. Even through the playoffs, we’ve been able to do that, and we should take that confidence.

“We don’t take it for granted thinking that it’s going to happen, we know they’re going to step up their game up, too, we’re going to have to step our game up and prepare for that. Our ability to do it all season is a good sign, that’s why you prepare for it throughout the season is for moments like this.”

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch feels he does not have to stress to his team the importance of expecting more from Florida. The Oilers feel they are battle tested as the path to the Final has not always been straight or smooth.

“You just look at the playoffs, the road that we’ve taken, there’s always been ups and downs and there have been games we’ve won easily and the next night we’ve lost, and vice-versa where we’ve had a bad game and we’ve responded and played really well,” Knoblauch said. “That was a game where I don’t think it was their best and they’re just going to be better. You look at how well they’ve played throughout these playoffs. I feel we’ll see more from them.”

There were a lot of unknowns heading into the series to how Edmonton was going to handle Florida’s smothering forecheck, physicality and tight-checking game. The Panthers were impressive getting past the New York Rangers, the Presidents’ Trophy winners as the NHL’s top team in the regular season, in the Eastern Conference Final, and also dispatched Atlantic Division rivals in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in the first two rounds.

Yet, after conceding a goal on their first shot against, the Oilers took the play to Florida. Edmonton felt it did not make the most of its Grade-A chances through the opening two periods, which included breakaways by Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique in the first.

“Definitely (Bobrovsky) made some big saves, but there were some missed opportunities, whether we just missed nets or just didn’t get the shot that we wanted to,” Knoblauch said. “But yeah, I think it’s fair to say he played really well but I think there are things we can do that in our control that we could have made more of our chances.”

Getting a split going back to Rogers Place in Edmonton for Game 3 on Thursday would be big for the Oilers. This is the third consecutive series where Edmonton does not have home-ice advantage. Edmonton lost the opening game to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round and went on to win the best-of-7 series in seven games.

“Of course it’s big, you want to go home with the split,” Draisaitl said. “I think it’s the old cliche, you go on the road to come home with the split. Tomorrow is a big game for us, but even if it doesn’t go our way, it’s not the end of the world.”