Florida leads Stanley Cup Final 2-0 after 4-1 win on Tuesday
The Florida Panthers took a commanding 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, due in large part to the exploits of former Buffalo Sabre Evan Rodrigues.
Rodrigues had a goal in the Panthers 3-0 victory in Game 1 and in Game 2 he scored twice, including the game-winner early in the third on a turnover by Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard, and an insurance goal on the power play later in the period.
“I’m not too worried about the point totals or goals. At the end of the day, we are looking for wins here.” Rodrigues said after the game.
The 30-year-old, who had only 12 goals in the regular season, now has six goals in 19 playoff games and nearly half of the Panthers offensive output in the Final.
“(Rodrigues) went on a world tour of our lineup, and played with just about everyone (during the season) and found his game,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “The confidence to be specific about who you are as a player and then (be) confident in that. At this point of the playoffs, he’s played all three positions and on three different lines.”
The five other former Sabres had a lesser impact in the contest. Brandon Montour led all Florida skaters in ice time with 22:23, Sam Reinhart led all Panther forwards with 20:15, but was on the ice for Mattias Ekholm’s opening goal. Dmitry Kulikov played 13:30 and Kyle Okposo played nearly 10 minutes. Evander Kane went -3 in 10:33, and could be a scratch for Game 3 on Thursday as it is suspected he is struggling with an injury.
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