Draisaitl among top performers for Oilers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON -- Who played well in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in a 4-3 overtime win by the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on Wednesday. Here are the players that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers): Draisaitl started it, but more importantly, he finished it. He got Rogers Place going just 1:06 into the game with his eighth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it was his overtime winner on the power play at 19:29 that had Edmonton celebrating.

Stuart Skinner (Edmonton Oilers): After Sam Bennett’s second goal 2:00 into the second period, the Oilers goaltender settled in and was strong for the rest of the game. He made 16 of his 29 saves in the second period, when the Panthers outshot the Oilers 17-8.

Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers): The forward made his presence known with two goals. His first goal was upheld after a failed Oilers challenge for goaltender interference.

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): Draisaitl had the winner, but guess who set him up? You guessed it, the Oilers captain who also had the primary assist on defenseman Mattias Ekholm’s tying goal at 6:33 of the third period.

Brad Marchand (Florida Panthers): His power-play goal gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 12:30 of the first period and was Florida’s second goal in less than two minutes, quieting what had been a raucous Rogers Place.

Stock watch

Atmosphere: ⬆️ You expected Rogers Place to be loud with Edmonton hosting Game 1 of the Cup Final, and the Oilers faithful didn’t disappoint. The decibel reading was 113.6 as the Oilers came out for Game 1, the first Cup Final opener played in front of fans in Canada since 2011 (Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins).

Physicality: ⬆️ Both of these teams have plenty of skill but there was no shortage of big hits in Game 1, either. The Panthers and Oilers combined for 102 hits (51 each). Oilers forward Evander Kane was especially physical, credited with a game-high nine hits.

Jake Walman: ⬆️ The Oilers defenseman blocked a Panthers shot late in the first period and looked like he was hurting the rest of the way. That didn’t stop him from playing a great game. Walman had an assist and five shots on goal.

Oilers power play: ⬆️ It was 0-for-3 through the first three periods of this one but came through when it was necessary.

Nate Schmidt: ⬆️ The Panthers defenseman had the primary assist on both Marchand’s power-play goal and Bennett’s second goal of the game.

What we learned

Panthers can’t close it out

You can’t say this often about Florida, which was 10-0 this postseason when entering the third period with a lead (they were up 3-2) and 31-0 when leading at the end of the first or second period in playoff games under coach Paul Maurice. But the Oilers had the answers down the stretch.

Oilers won’t quit

Edmonton got its third multigoal comeback of the playoffs on Wednesday, tying the franchise record for the most in one postseason (three in 1990 and 1988).