RECAP: Panthers 4, Oilers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers put on a defensive clinic during their 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

While Sergei Bobrovsky stole the show during their win in Game 1, the Panthers got it done in front of him in Game 2, limiting the Oilers’ potent offense to just one high-danger shot attempt.

Heading to Edmonton up 2-0 in the series, the Panthers just keep building their game.

“I thought it was a continuation of our third period in Game 1,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the performance. “I thought our gap was good. The effort was outstanding.”

Surviving a few scary moments, the Panthers were happy to just get through the first period in one piece after Eetu Luostarinen and Aaron Ekblad both briefly left the ice in visible pain.

Just before the 10-minute mark of the period, Luostarinen was taken out by a knee-on-knee hit from Oilers forward Warren Foegele. After a review, Foegele received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the incident, which meant his night was officially over.

Luostarinen left the ice, but returned later in the period.

With that five-minute power play turning into a 4-on-4 after the Panthers took a penalty, the Oilers opened the scoring when defenseman Mattias Ekholm kept the puck on 2-on-1 rush and slipped a shot through Bobrovsky’s pads from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 11:17.

Near the end of the period, Ekblad got tied up with Connor McDavid behind Florida’s net and headed straight to the locker room after the two players hit the ice awkwardly together.

Just like Luostarinen, Ekblad thankfully returned before the first intermission.

In the second period, the Panthers finally pulled even thanks to an exceptional play from their own stay-at-home defenseman. Flying up the ice, 6-foot-5 blueliner Niko Mikkola took a drop pass from Anton Lundell and ripped a heavy shot past Stuart Skinner from the high slot to make it 1-1 at 9:34.

Moments earlier, Mikkola gave fans a scare when he sent a no-look pass right to Bobrovsky.

“Bobby was awake, so that was good for us,” Mikkola smiled.

Helping keep the Oilers off the board in the second period, the Panthers continued to come up big on the penalty kill. Surviving two power plays, they held the Oilers to just six shot attempts and one shot on goal over 3:28 of shorthanded ice time in the middle frame.

Overall, the Panthers are 7-for-7 on the penalty kill through the first two games of the series.

Edmonton entered the series operating at 37.3% with the extra attacker.

Sending the Panthers ahead early in the third period, Evan Rodrigues, who also lit the lamp in Game 1, took advantage of a turnover by Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard and fired a laser past Skinner from the left circle to make it 2-1 at 3:11.

“It’s nice to contribute to wins,” Rodrigues said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who it is. In Game 1, Bobby (Bobrovsky) stands on his head. It doesn’t matter who it is. We’re looking for wins here. We’re happy with the results in our first two.”

Later in the third period, the Oilers lost their cool and the Panthers lost their captain.

With Aleksander Barkov playing the puck along the wall in Florida’s zone, Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl left his feet and hit Barkov in the head. Down on the ice for a while, Barkov eventually left headed to the locker room slowly under his own power, but did not return to action.

Getting off easy, Draisaitl was only given two minutes for roughing.

If he wasn’t one of Edmonton’s top players, a suspension would normally be in the cards.

After the game, Maurice had no update on Barkov.

In the locker room, players would also not comment on the hit.

"The league looks at everything,” Maurice said. “They'll look at every hit."

Making the Oilers immediately pay on their ensuing power play, the Panthers extended their lead to 3-1 when Rodrigues dashed down the slot and re-directed a centering feed from Lundell past Skinner at 12:26.

With that goal, Edmonton’s streak of 34 straight successful penalty kills ended.

Stepping up, Lundell had two primary assists in Game 2.

“Just a big-game player,” Rodrigues said of the 22-year-old Finn. “Loves the challenge. Loves the moment. I think he elevates his game in the playoffs because he relishes the challenges that come with a harder game, more meaningful games. “

With just under six minutes left, Bobrovsky helped keep the two-goal lead intact when he denied McDavid, who was been hassled by a trailing Matthew Tkachuk, on a breakaway.

Later, the Oilers earned a power play and turned it into a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Skinner. Once again, Florida’s penalty kill didn’t give Edmonton anything to work with. At 17:32, Ekblad made it 4-1 with a dagger of an empty-net goal.

Continuing to muck it up, Sam Carrick and Vincent Desharnais both got tossed for the Oilers with less than two minutes left in regulation. Carrick’s crime was particularly egregious as he speared Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in the man region.

Maintaining the high ground and also getting the win in front of a sellout crowd in Sunrise, the Panthers are riding high as they head to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 at Rogers Place.

Two wins down, two to go.

“That’s two big wins for our team and I think we’ve already turned the page and are getting ready for Game 3,” Rodrigues said.

THEY SAID IT

“He (Evan Rodrigues) went on a world tour of our lineup and played with just about everyone and found his game.” – Paul Maurice

“It’s special. I’m trying to embrace it, trying to stay in the moment.” – Evan Rodrigues

“Even when we’re down one goal, everybody was calm. We’re trusting the process and trust we’re going to get the chances.” – Niko Mikkola

“So good. So happy for him (Evan Rodrigues). Proud of him. He was awesome. … That’s two games in a row scoring some big goals for us. … Tonight, it was him.” – Matthew Tkachuk

CATS STATS

-  The Panthers improved to 5-1 this postseason when tied after two periods.

- Evan Rodrigues is the first player in Panthers history with a multi-goal game in the Stanley Cup Final.

- The Panthers earned their seventh comeback win of this postseason.

- Sergei Bobrovsky is the first goaltender since 2008 to allow one goal or fewer through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

- Anton Lundell is the second Panther to ever record a multi-assist game in the Stanley Cup Final.

- The Panthers led 20-9 in scoring chances.

WHAT’S NEXT?

After taking care of business at home, the Panthers will now carry their 2-0 series lead into Edmonton for Game 3 at Rogers Place on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

For watch party information, visit FloridaPanthers.com/PlayoffCentral.