Oilers beat Panthers 4-3 in OT in Game 1 of Stanley Cup rematch
CBC
The Edmonton Oilers won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers Wednesday after Leon Draisaitl netted his second of the night with 31 seconds remaining in overtime on a setup from Connor McDavid.
Draisaitl also opened the scoring just over a minute into the game Wednesday at a raucous Rogers Place, as the Oilers kicked off the Cup rematch on home ice.
Sam Bennett evened things up for Florida midway through the first period, tipping a Carter Verhaeghe shot while bumping goalie Stuart Skinner on a play that Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch challenged for goaltender interference and lost, leading to a delay of game penalty.
Brad Marchand scored on the ensuing power play to give the visitors a lead at the 12:30 mark, shifting the momentum.
That sent the Oilers to the dressing room down a goal after 20 minutes, despite outshooting the Panthers 15-6.
There was no slowing down in the second frame, with Bennett adding his second goal of the night just two minutes into the period, widening the Panthers' lead to 3-1.
But the Oilers were quick to respond, with Viktor Arvidsson firing a slapshot through traffic and past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Panthers dominated the shot clock and Skinner made some clutch stops in a physical second period.
The Oilers came out strong in the third with Ekholm, who missed most of the playoffs due to injury, notching his first goal of the post-season six minutes in and ultimately sending the hard-hitting game to OT on a feed from McDavid.
Edmonton had 36 shots to the Panthers' 26 after three periods.
The Panthers came out aggressive in OT, peppering Skinner early on before the Oilers applied heavy pressure on the opposite end, with scoring chances including breakaways by winger Kasperi Kapanen and defenceman Evan Bouchard.
The tense period looked destined to end scoreless before Panthers winger Tomas Nosek flipped the puck over the boards, earning a delay of game penalty with less than two minutes on the clock.
Draisaitl's power-play one-timer, with assists to McDavid and Corey Perry, clinched a nail-biting first game for the Oilers.
Last season ended in heartbreak for the Oilers after they clawed their way back from a seemingly insurmountable three-game deficit against the Florida Panthers, only to drop the final in Miami.
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