Before continuing, it may be fair to establish some basic rules on how to evaluate this Stanley Cup final in particular.
Specifically, unless Edmonton Oilers or Florida panthers win such a great advantage to put the game out of reach, everything could be decided within the final 10 minutes of regulation or every time the winning goal of the game is obtained in extra time (or even double extra time).
OK. Now that we are all on the same page, here is a look at how the Oilers took game 1 with a 4-3 victory in extra time, and what everything means advancing for both parties before game 2.
Winning the third period in the way the oilers did was crucial. Not only because he led to extra time, but because it could be said that it was its most consistent framework in game 1.
They had the shots in the first period, but they still continued. They fought to gain possession and generate shots in the second, which played a role in why they were low for a goal. Obtaining a goal from Mattias Ekholm at the beginning of the third gave the Oilers their twentieth scorer this postseason. They also exceed the Panthers 14-2, while they have a 58.3%shots, providing them with a sense of control that had lacked them.
Although they began overtime to the defensive, their constant ability to apply pressure during the last 15 minutes was worth it with Leon Draisaitl scoring the winner of the game of power game with remaining 1:06.
They survived the Kasperi Kapanen Mini-Breakaway. They survived the blank opportunity of Trent Frederic in the Circle of confrontation. They survived when the Oilers had a sequence 5 against 5 that treated as a power game. They survived the opportunity to write down Evan Bouchard in which he slipped behind the defense for another blank opportunity that Sergei Bobrovsky stopped.
Even Destiny's son, for those relatives, thought the Panthers survived too much.
In the end, they could not survive the oilers in a late extra time power game, during which Draisaitl scored the goal that led the Panthers to fall into game 1.
Each game comes with a turning point, especially if a team loses. The Panthers had some. Will it be the second period, which saw them have a 65.2% shots while opening to launch 17 shots to the goal, just to go out with a goal largely due to the solid game of Stuart Skinner in the network? Is it the third period that saw them obtain only two shots on the door? Or will it be how their dominant beginning in extra time could not make the most?
THE THREE STARS OF THE GAME 1 OF ARDA ÖCAL
Draisaitl did not have a single goal in the 2024 Cup final. He scored 66 seconds in game 1, then scored the winner of the extra time game. A sublime start in this year's championship series. Draisaitl has scored or helped in five of the six OT goals in the last two positions of positions.
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Leon Draisaitl scores 66 seconds in game 1 for oilers
Leon Draisaitl obtains the first goal of the Stanley Cup final just over a minute in the game for the Oilers against the Panthers.
The veteran defender scored his first goal from this postseason in his second game of an injury. It became the 20th Oiler to score in these playoffs, which is tied in the second more in a single postseason in the history of the NHL (the 1987 Flyers and the Blues 2019 had 21 scorers of different goals).
A two goals effort in a loser cause. Bennett now has 12 goals in this postseason, which is the largest amount of playoffs in the history of the franchise. Eleven of those goals have been on the road, which is tied with Mark Scheifele (2018) for most road objectives in a single postseason in the history of the NHL.
Players to see in game 2
Remember: This man was in exemptions in November. The claim of the oilers on him was initially seen as an opportunity to add depth to the cheap, just to become something greater. His winning goal of the game in the extra time victory of game 5 of the series in the finals of the West Conference opened the door for more game time. He almost did it again in game 1 in extra time too, but received assistance in the winning goal of the game.
It has been part of the solution of how Oilers would go without Zach Hyman, who suffered an injury in the western conference finals that will keep him out for the rest of the postseason. Kapanen made his part by having three assists, while his five hits allowed the Oilers to maintain the physical advantage they have used as part of their identity to reach a consecutive cup final.
There are two ways to see what Bennett did in game 1. The first is that his two -point effort once again reinforced what has made him a serious candidate to win the Conn Smythe trophy as Playoffs MVP. Bennett was already at the top of the classification table before the game, since it has scored 10 goals in postseason. Collect two more now gives him 18 points, which is tied with the center of Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for fourth place.
The second is that it will obtain paid This low season. Early in the day, the avalanche of Colorado signed Brock Nelson again in a three -year agreement worth $ 7.5 million annually to prevent the open market. What Bennett did to help Panthers reach three consecutive finals of the Stanley Cup, and be able to claim at least a second title, will only increase what he could order on July 1.
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Sam Bennett's second goal gives Florida a 3-1 advantage
Sam Bennett has his second goal of the game to give Panthers a 3-1 advantage over the oilers.
Great questions for game 2
Did the third period and overtime give the Oilers a defensive roadmap against the Panthers?
The Oilers' path to the final of the Stanley Cup was based on how its defensive structure made the infernal life for the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, two teams that were among the five best goals per game in the regular season, and that fought in the playoffs.
The Oilers had some challenges in the first period, with Skinner partially protected in the first two goals before having a collapse in the second period that left his goalkeeper on an island.
From there, the Oilers renounced eight combined shots in the final paintings, with the greatest concentration in the first five minutes of extra time.
Of course, Panthers have found advances against teams with restrictive defensive structures, such as Carolina hurricanes in the East Conference finals. Are the Panthers about to find another in game 2? Or could the oilers be in something that could see them find even more success within their defensive identity?
What is the main conclusion in the future: its beginning or its end?
This is where it is complicated, and goes back to the previous statement on the teams that have inflection points. In the second period, the Panthers were aggressive in a way that almost no one has been against the oilers. That resulted in five high danger score opportunities, along with a general control sensation.
That is what caused him to come out with a single goal, especially in a game of a goal, something that could ask questions about how they make the most of those opportunities in the future.
But at the same time, the notion that they were forced to survive in an extra time that saw them divide the participation of the shooting with the oilers, do they have more chances of annotation of a high -level day but cannot provide that constant threat?
That could also give the Panthers even more than to think about the next few days … or perhaps they will not question the process, since the Panthers had won their last 31 playoff games in which they had an advantage of the second period.
