Somebody had to win.
The defending champs did.
Both the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers had their chances – and made mistakes – but the visitors made the most of theirs Friday at Rogers Place, including Brad Marchand’s second breakaway goal of the night in the second overtime to lift them to a 5-4 victory and tie the Stanley Cup Final at one game apiece.
“That’s hockey,” Oilers forward Corey Perry, who sent the game to extra time when he scored with 17 seconds left and Edmonton with an empty net for an extra attacker.
“We lost with 24 seconds left a couple series ago (against the Vegas Golden Knights.) Those are tough ... Yes, you can think about it, but tomorrow, you get some rest, get on the plane and get ready for Game 3. They’re a good team. They’re going to push to the max.”
Momentum swung between the two sides, but just like in Game 1, the Oilers sagged in the second period and the Panthers – ever relentless on the forecheck – took advantage, with Marchand giving Florida a 4-3 lead at 12:09 of the second period while shorthanded.
That gave the defending champions a boost and saw them dominate play the rest of the frame, although Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner once again bailed out his team and stopped eight shots in the final 7:53 of the second with the Panthers controlling play much of the time in the Oilers’ end.
“We weren’t as quick to recover pucks, and they’re going to have their push, of course,” a contrite Leon Draisaitl told reporters in the dressing room following the game.
And though the Oilers perked up in the third period to generate several scoring chances and eventually Perry’s game-tying goal to force overtime, the game came down to who would get a break.
It came on the winning goal, of course, starting with a shot by Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm that went wide. Panthers forward Anton Lundell recovered the puck and quickly lobbed it ahead to a streaking Marchand, who put the puck between the pads of Skinner on a partial breakaway for the winning tally.
“Those counter attacks often happen,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters after the game. “We’re on the attack, we got a great look. (Ekholm) comes in there, takes a slap shot. If he hits the net, we’re celebrating. Unfortunately, it goes around and it’s a difficult read. Everyone’s going one direction, then it’s coming back the other way.
“It’s just unfortunate it worked out that way.”
