Florida will play deciding Game 7 in Stanley Cup Final on Monday
The Florida Panthers appeared to be a lock on their franchise’s first Stanley Cup victory after taking a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final last week, but someone forgot to tell Edmonton they were done, as the Oilers have outscored the Panthers 18-5 and rallied to tie the best-of-seven series and force Game 7 on Monday in Sunrise, FL.
Part of the reason for the Oilers comeback has been the metamorphosis of Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky from superhuman to a mere mortal, but another big factor has been the disappearing act of the five former members of the Buffalo Sabres, who early in the series had been significant contributors.
Evan Rodrigues was the scoring star early in the series, with three goals that powered the Panthers to 3-0 and 4-1 victories in Games 1 and 2, and in the three losses, he has been the best of the former Sabre contingent. Rodrigues is the only Florida skater with a plus rating (+1) and is tied for the scoring lead with two points.
Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour have not done themselves any favors on the cusp of unrestricted free agency. The 57-goal scorer is pointless and -6 in three games, while Montour lost his place as quarterback of the struggling Florida power play to Oliver Ekman-Larsson after Florida allowed two opening short-handed goals in Games 4 and 5.
Kyle Okposo was on the ice for three Edmonton goals in limited minutes in two potential clinching games and was scratched for Game 6 in favor of Nick Cousins after a careless hooking penalty led to Corey Perry’s game-winning goal in Game 5, while Dmitry Kulikov has one assist in the three games on the bottom pairing.
Evander Kane has not dressed since Game 2 after struggling to play through injuries. There has been chatter that Kane could play on Monday, but it is hard to imagine that Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch would tamper with a winning lineup for a deciding Game 7.
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