Ryan Kennedy and Jacob Stoller discuss the Florida Panthers being favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Photo by Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA3MDMzMzM0MzczNTU3Mjk5/usatsi_23505906_168393426_lowres.jpg] Photo by Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports. SUNRISE, FLA - The Edmonton Oilers got a taste of what the Stanley Cup final is all about and now the Florida Panthers - who learned their lessons last year - have a 1-0 series lead after beating the Oilers 3-0 in Game 1. But for all the details that Edmonton will have to iron out before Game 2, it must be said that the biggest difference-maker in the game was Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned aside 32 Oilers shots, many of which were of the high-danger variety. "He's just been unreal," said teammate Matthew Tkachuk. "His preparation is incredible, his work ethic, his character - everything you want in a teammate, especially a goalie - he is everything. I was very impressed with the way he played, especially early, but honestly, all night he was really good. He was there for us." Things got off to a chaotic and nervy start and Bobrovsky actually gifted the Oilers the first chance of the game when he muffed a dump-in on the first shift. Edmonton buzzed around the zone, but ultimately couldn't beat the Panthers netminder. Less than four minutes in, however, Florida got on the board when captain Aleksander Barkov fed Carter Verhaeghe on a 3-on-2 and this is where a lack of detail hurt Edmonton: Zach Hyman could have caught Verhaeghe, but the ordinarily responsible winger stopped skating. Edmonton had its own rush chances, including two breakaways in the first period, but Bobrovsky was there to shut the door. First he robbed Adam Henrique in alone, then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who slipped loose during an Oilers power play. "I just played my structure and tried to squeeze the gap," Bobrovsky said. "I did my best to make the stops." On top of the breakaways, Bobrovsky also did a nice 1980s goalie impression when he flashed the leather on a glove save late in the period off a Mattias Ekholm point shot through traffic. Early in the second, details hurt the Oilers again when Florida's Sam Bennett chased down his own offensive dump-in, then fed a great pass from behind the net to Evan Rodrigues for a 2-0 Florida lead. At the other end, Bobrovsky and the Panthers penalty-kill managed to blank the vaunted Edmonton power play, which got three chances on the night and came up empty - though not without a flurry of chances. "I saw a lot of commitment blocking shots, being strong on clears and getting in lanes," Tkachuk said. "They had some great looks but Bob made some great saves. There was a lot of desperation from us and it was really good to see. I'm really proud of our PK and those players did a great job for us." Role players such as Kevin Stenlund and Eetu Luostarinen were two of those penalty-killers who made the requisite sacrifices and smart plays and when you already have the Selke Trophy winner in Barkov on your side, that makes it a challenge to get one past a red-hot goaltender. Overall, Edmonton drastically out-shot the Panthers and had a ton of great chances, but couldn't pierce the armor. From now until Game 2, that will be the Oilers' homework. "There's definitely things we can target," said coach Kris Knoblauch. "Every goalie has strengths and weaknesses, every system you play has strengths and weaknesses. There are things as coaches we can address. And there's the element of luck: Sometimes pucks go in. Game 6 (against Dallas) we had two goals on 10 shots - that was a good night for us." Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Florida's win was how calm the Panthers were in the third period. Protecting a 2-0 lead, there was no panic and indeed, the shots were only 7-6 Edmonton in the final frame after the Oilers had a 25-12 advantage through 40 minutes. When the Oilers pulled goalie Stuart Skinner for the extra attacker with a little more than two minutes to play, the Panthers made several clears where they just made sure to get the puck to the neutral zone; they weren't gunning for the empty net and risking an icing. Eventually Luostarinen did pot an empty-netter, but he was safely around center ice when he did so. The good news for the Oilers is that they got goalie'd and scorers like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl won't be held off the scoresheet all series. The bad news for Edmonton is that Florida knows they can play better, too. "It always feels good to win but we've got a lot of things to clean up and get better at," Tkachuk said. "They played well, we played well enough to win."
