SUNRISE | We knew that the Florida Panthers had an awkward style of play, but on top of that, they are dangerously effective.
In two games, they managed to shut out Leon Draisaitl and limit Connor McDavid to one pass. In fact, the Oilers have only scored one goal in the first two games of the final, which the Panthers unsurprisingly lead 2 to 0. The Oilers will have to bounce back by returning home on Thursday and Saturday.
It’s difficult to win when your two best players don’t score. And yet, that’s what the Panthers managed to do.
Indeed, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk or Sam Reinhart have yet to score for Florida. Rather, it is Evan Rodrigues who is leading the charge so far with three goals in two games.
It perfectly illustrates what the Panthers are, a team that is better than the individuals who make it up.
No shots
We don’t yet know if the Floridians will be able to apply their style of play until the end, but it is extremely effective against the Oilers.
The Panthers operate a bit like a boa constrictor. They wrap themselves around their prey and do not give it air to breathe until it suffocates.
At least that’s how the Oilers must feel after the first two games. They have no space on the ice, they are stuck along the boards and they have difficulty settling in for a longer period of time in offensive territory.
This was particularly evident in the second game, where they only got 19 shots. And again, the number is misleading since they only had seven after two periods. And in the third, they were limited to long throws with limited success rate.
Extinct
Worse still for the Oilers, they are unable to make their numerical advantage work, which was the best in the series before the start of the final with a frightening success rate of 37.3%.
And since then, in the first two matches of the final? They have not scored a goal in seven occasions.
This once again demonstrates the excellence of the defensive play of the Panthers, who protect Sergei Bobrovsky well, who has less need to work miracles.
The Russian goalie certainly worked some small miracles in the first meeting, but on Monday, he gave Mattias Ekholm a gift on the Oilers’ very first shot, but they did not manage to build on this favorable turn of events .
Injuried people
The game was particularly rough during the second meeting. Leon Draisaitl suffered a brain bubble midway through the third period when he hit Aleksander Barkov in the head.
The Panthers captain collapsed on the ice and did not return to the game. His condition is still unknown.
Eetu Luostarinen was the victim of a knee strike from Warren Foegele in the first period. He was fortunately able to return to the game, but Foegele received a major penalty and was ejected from the game. The Oilers missed his speed. Both Foegele and Draisaitl could have a meeting with the disciplinary committee.
Finally, Darnell Nurse was injured in the first period. He ultimately only made seven appearances in the entire match. He played only 28 seconds in the second period and twice in the third for a total of 1 minute and 34 seconds. During commercial breaks, he jumped on the ice and appeared to test his right hip. He’s a bit lost in the final, but theoretically remains one of the Oilers’ best defensive elements.
