SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are now two victories away from winning their first championship in franchise history after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Panthers center Evan Rodrigues found the back of Oilers’ goalie Stuart Skinner’s net twice to help spark the win at a loud and proud Amerant Bank Arena.
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Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad also found the back of the Oilers’ empty net with 2:28 left in the third period.
The Oilers got outshot 9-4 in the opening period but took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after Mattias Ekholm scored on their first shot-on-goal with just under seven minutes in the first period.
The goal came after a 5-minute roughing penalty from Edmonton’s Warren Foegele, who was ejected from the game for his knee-on-knee hit that injured Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen midway through the first period.
Foegele stuck out his left leg into Luostarinen’s left leg and a scrum ensued after as the Finnish forward lay on the ice and got medical attention. Luostarinen skated off with athletic trainers and immediately went down the tunnel.
Officials reviewed the hit and decided it warranted a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. It was not immediately clear if the NHL’s department of player safety might consider supplemental discipline for Foegele.
Just 97 seconds afterward, Florida defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was penalized for tripping. The Oilers scored their first goal of the series at 4 on 4 when fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm beat Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole on an odd-man rush.
Luostarinen returned to the ice a few minutes later.
The Panthers were able to get on the board and tie the game 1-1 after Niko Mikkola hammered a shot through the net off of a smooth assist from Anton Lundell.
They were able to take a 2-1 lead after center Evan Rodrigues put it up just minutes into the third period. It was Rodrigues’ second goal of the series and sixth of the postseason.
The win came with a price for Florida as the Panthers lost Aleksander Barkov, their captain when Edmonton forward Draisaitl launched toward him midway through the third period and hit him in the head. Barkov remained down for some time, needed help getting to the bench and went down the tunnel for the Florida locker room for further evaluation.
Following the penalty, the Panthers were finally able to take advantage of their power play after Rodrigues hit his second goal of the night with just over 7 minutes remaining as Florida took a 3-1 lead. It was the first Panthers goal in 34 power play opportunities.
“It’s special,” Rodrigues told reporters after the game. “Trying to embrace it. Trying to stay in the moment. That’s two big wins for our team, but I think we’ve already turned the page and are getting ready for Game 3.”
Edmonton outshot Florida 25-12 in Game 1 but Florida returned the favor in Game 2.
The Panthers now lead the series 2-0 and will head to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
The Oilers, meanwhile, are looking to return to hockey’s mountaintop for the first time since 1990.
The puck for Game 3 is set to drop at 8 p.m.
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