From mini sticks to game-winning goals, Rodrigues relishing role in Stanley Cup Final

FORT LAUDERDALE – In the long week leading up to the start of the Stanley Cup Final, Evan Rodrigues still managed to find a way to fine-tune his game against stiff competition.

Turning the playroom at his home into a makeshift rink with the help of some tape and a few nets, Rodrigues and his two sons – five-year-old Grayson and three-year-old Noah – played game after game of mini sticks while pretending to battle for the Stanley Cup.

“It’s rare if we go a day without playing mini sticks,” Rodrigues said.

While it’s not uncommon for one of these heated sessions to last over an hour, Rodrigues said the busy schedule of the playoffs meant that he would have to start upping his game.

“My one son loves to play up to a certain number,” Rodrigues said with a chuckle. “If we play a game up to 10, he wants that game to take an hour and a half. To speed things up, I sometimes have to snap ‘em in to get the game going. Maybe that’s helped me a little bit.”

Looking at the numbers, he might be on to something.

A breakout star in the Stanley Cup Final, Rodrigues helped the Panthers take a 2-0 lead in the series with a two-goal performance in a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

In Game 1, he scored Florida's second goal – his first-ever in the Final – in a 3-0 win.

“So good,” teammate Matthew Tkachuk said after Game 2. “So happy for him. Proud of him. He was awesome. Playing with him the last few games, he reads the game so well. That’s two games in a row scoring some big goals for us. He’s just a super smart player.”

Making the most out of his first chance to win a championship, Rodrigues’ three goals are tied for the most-ever by a player in the first two Stanley Cup Final games of their career.

For his efforts in Game 2, he was named the First Star of the Game.

Watching in the stands, Grayson went crazy for his dad.

“My wife has a video of him when they’re announcing the three stars after the game and he’s jumping around and as happy as can be,” Rodrigues said. “I don’t know if they know the full gist of what’s at stake here, but every day they’re talking about, saying ‘We want the Stanley Cup! We’re going to win the Stanley Cup!' I try to stay level-headed when they stay that, but it’s really cool to have them all involved. It makes it that much more meaningful.”

Carving out a valuable role for himself, Rodrigues continues to be a model of versatility.

When the Panthers have a hole to fill, he’s always their top plug-and-play option.

Through 19 playoff games, Rodrigues has seen notable ice time on three different lines at 5-on-5.  Per NaturalStatTrick.com, he’s played 64:03 on the third line with Anton Lundell, 97:46 on the second line with Sam Bennett and 10:36 on the top line with Aleksander Barkov.

“A world tour of our lineup,” head coach Paul Maurice said.

In Game 2, Rodrigues played at least two minutes on three different lines at 5-on-5.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Rodrigues said of shifting up and down the lineup at a moment's notice. “Sometimes when you get put with different players, it gives you that little extra boost, and I think that happened yesterday. It’s a minor tweak, but it just gives you, maybe, just that extra pop in your step.”

While scoring three goals in the Stanley Cup Final might be what many would describe as a “dream come true,” Rodrigues doesn’t feel that way.

Just like mini sticks at home, the real goal isn’t the goals being scored.

There's a bigger prize being played for.

“At the end of the day, there’s one goal in mind, and we’re not there yet,” Rodrigues said. “It’s nice to be contributing to wins and helping the team win, but the dream come true is at the end of the road.”

With a chance to go up 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final, Rodrigues and the Panthers will battle the Oilers in Game 3 at Rogers Place on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

For information on the official watch party in South Florida, click HERE.