Corey Perry and Brad Marchand keep proving that age is only a state of mind. Perry scored a miracle tying goal with less than 20 seconds left in regulation, setting up the second straight Overtime tilt in a series that’s still only two games old. It was his 9th career goal scored in a Final series, tying him with Marchand for the most among active players. But then, in double OT, Marchand decided to take that record back with his 10th Finals goal. Brad also became the first player to score both a shorthanded goal and OT goal in one Finals game. The NHL is over a century old, and we just saw this happen now? These two have had multiple 4th-round appearances since winning it all in their early 20s. Watching them still perform this far at a high level is great for the sport and for nostalgia.
Not that Game 2 was Stuart Skinner’s fault, by any means. But you’d have liked to see a save on at least one of Marchand’s goals, obviously the second one. Both were breakaways and beat Skinner five-hole. Sam Reinhart also had a breakaway, but shot the puck wide. So Stu pretty much didn’t have a great night on scoring chances like those. Leon Draisaitl did his job to backcheck and defend on the second breakaway goal; Marchand couldn’t get a better shot off. But it still managed to squeak through Skinner. Evan Bouchard got caught out of place because he expected to get the puck at the blue line when it was making its way around the boards. But when you watch the goal on the NHL Edge website, a great tool that I recommend, you’ll notice that the puck took a hop halfway towards Bouchard. That’s how the Panthers were able to get possession, leading to the aforementioned OT goal.
Game 1 was a loss that the Panthers would like to have back, and Game 2 was a loss that the Oilers would like to have back. Either team could have a 2-0 lead in this series; that’s how close those games were and how razor-thin the margin for error is. That’s postseason hockey, championship hockey, and you just have to move on. Of course, both teams would prefer a 2-game advantage, but they’re happy enough not to have a 2-game disadvantage. In last year’s Finals, Edmonton got outscored 7-1 through the first two games. In this year’s Finals, both teams have scored eight goals. There won’t be a 3-0 deficit like last time. Just try getting the first win in Florida, and see where you can go from there. The keys to the game are…
Edmonton Oilers Thoughts
Control Your Emotions: I sympathize with players feeling adrenaline at this time of the year. But letting it take hold of your play on the ice can sometimes be costly. Case in point, Evander Kane’s offensive zone penalty less than a minute into Friday night’s game. I remember a moment remotely similar to this in the 2022 Western Conference Final against the Avalanche. After Kane’s team scored first early in Game 3 of that series, he checked Nazem Kadri hard into the boards, and that led to him getting a one-game suspension. He made up for this penalty on Friday with a tying goal later in the first period. But don’t forget the difference between playing with emotion and playing while emotional, especially against this team.
Bennett-Fit Of A Doubt: We were warned about Sam Bennett injuring or bruising goalies accidentally on purpose. For the second game in a row, he had a moment with Skinner on the ice. Not in regard to a goal being challenged, but there was concern that Skinner may’ve been injured. Calvin Pickard looked almost ready to take over. It did result in a minor penalty that the Oilers scored on. But that camera shot of Matthew Tkachuk giving Bennett a congratulatory tap after the incident while smiling is where I want every Oiler to take as many liberties with #9 as humanly possible. Send a message that our goalies will be stood up for. If he wants to spend time around the blue paint, make him pay for it.
Lead The Way: Edmonton has seven come-from-behind wins in these Playoffs; they weren’t able to get the 8th in Game 2. As impressive as these comebacks have been, and as comfortable as the Oilers are in those situations, they’ve also admitted before that it’s not always ideal to keep doing that. They’re too comfortable with it for the liking of many fans. They were better at holding onto leads against Dallas, first game aside. Try making that a habit in this series.
ITR 41: Stanley Cup Final – The Rematch – Inside The Rink
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