It was Perry’s eighth goal (two behind team-leader Leon Draisaitl), and 12th point of the same postseason that saw him celebrate his 40th birthday on May 16.
He’s living proof that age is just a number, and the veteran goal-scorer is delivering for the Oilers when they need him most. The 2010-11 Hart Trophy winner as the League MVP is seeking his second championship after falling short in the Final in five of the past six seasons.
His lone championship came in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks, who drafted him in the first round (No. 28) of the 2003 NHL Draft.
“I’ve played with him before, he’s a big clutch player,” said Oilers defenseman John Klingberg, who was with Perry when the Dallas Stars lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 Final. “It’s very impressive.”
It went from ecstasy to agony Friday, when forward Brad Marchand scored his second goal of the game at 8:05 of double overtime to tie the series 1-1 heading to Amerant Bank Arena for Game 3 on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“We lost with 0.4 seconds left a couple of series ago. Those are tough,” Perry said of a 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the second round. “You go home and you can think about it, but tomorrow you get some rest, get on the plane and get ready for Game 3.
“They’re a good team and they are going to push us to the max, and we’re going to push them to the max. It’s frustrating right now, but we’re in the Final for a reason.”
The Oilers wouldn’t have gotten to where they are right now if they didn’t know how to bounce back from disappointment. After falling behind 3-0 to the Panthers in the 2024 Final, Edmonton won three straight games to force Game 7, only to lose 2-1 and go home empty handed.
“We made some great plays, and they capitalized on some plays that we probably could have been there,” Perry said. “That’s hockey. One mistake and it gets magnified, and it did tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that bounce.”
But Perry has been responsible for his fair share of good bounces since the Oilers signed him as a free agent on Jan. 22, 2024, and he very well may be in the right spot at the right time, like he was in Game 2, to push Edmonton over the line in this tightly contested Cup Final.
“Determination. Finding a way to find the puck and, obviously, putting it in the net,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s got a skill for that and that’s definitely what we were thinking when we added him last year for the run in the playoffs.
“He only had one goal last year, but knowing in the playoffs it’s hard to score, you need guys around the net and finding ways, and he’s as good as anybody finding ways to score.”
