After two Florida victories in two starting matches With the Stanley Cup Finals underway, the obvious question lingered: “Will the Panthers maintain this momentum and cope with the intense pressure of the huge arena in Edmonton?” The special atmosphere inside Rogers Place was enhanced by two problems the Panthers faced.
The first is the health status of Alexander Barkov. The leader and captain of Florida was injured in the second game of the series after a rough blow to the head from Leon Draisaitl and because of this he left the court early. His participation in the third match was in question, but the German from Edmonton avoided disqualification. The second problem is of a technical nature. As you know, this Stanley Cup final set a record for the entire league in terms of distance between the cities where clubs play their home games — 4089 kilometers. The one-way flight time is about six hours, but weather interfered with the Panthers' schedule. Heavy downpours and flooded streets in Florida led to widespread cancellations of flights at Miami and Fort Lauderdale international airports; the Panthers flew to Edmonton several hours later than planned; they also encountered bad weather at their destination.
Fortunately, Barkov still received a green signal from the club doctors to participate in the match, and the late departure for the away game did not globally affect the hockey players’ form. The meeting in Edmonton, as expected, turned out to be very nervous and chaotic. In the first period, the Oilers made attempts to quickly break through Sergei Bobrovsky and open the scoring. The Oilers even surpassed their opponents in shots on target. However, it was the Panthers who scored first — Sam Rinehart made a spectacular play on the set-up just before the break.
Edmonton responded to this goal in the opening of the second 20 minutes, when Warren Voegele, unexpectedly for many, ran into a counterattack and converted a one-to-zero. It seemed that the Oilers would go forward on this note, but instead they created a bunch of problems for themselves, which led to three conceded goals at once. Vladimir Tarasenko, Sam Bennett and Aleksandr Barkov each scored once in just six minutes.
We especially highlight the first goal in this final by Tarasenko, who, after a spectacular save by Sergei Bobrovsky, punished Stuart Skinner for a blunder, as well as Barkov’s puck. The Russian Finn, in front of his abuser Draisaitl, shows not in word but in deed how one must live up to the role of a team leader.
During this period, the Oilers frankly floated — just like the residents of Miami during major downpours. But the Oilers must be given their due, because they found the strength and character to return to the game and almost make a comeback from a score of 1:4. Connor McDavid, although he can’t score against Sergei Bobrovsky, is handing out assists left and right. The Canadian super forward and captain of Edmonton has done a lot to increase the team's chances of success. And he would have done even more if not for Bobrovsky. Sergei Andreevich made another incredible save at the very end of the match and saved the victory for the Panthers
In total, Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots and allowed Florida «getting just one step closer to the coveted championship. One victory and the great Russian goalie will lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career. And maybe the Conn Smythe Trophy. If the Panthers win, members of the NHL Sports Writers Association, which decides the playoff MVP award, will have to make a very difficult choice between Bobrovsky and Barkov.