Marchand, Bobrovsky among top performers for Panthers in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON -- Who played well in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in a 5-4 double overtime win by the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Friday. Here are the players that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Brad Marchand (Florida Panthers): The forward was big throughout, especially at the end when he scored on a partial breakaway at 8:05 of the second overtime. He also had a short-handed goal, becoming the second player aged 37 or older to score in each of his first two games of a Stanley Cup Final. That was his second career short-handed goal in a Cup Final. His first one came exactly 14 years ago, in Game 3 of the 2011 Final against the Vancouver Canucks.

Corey Perry (Edmonton Oilers): The 40-year-old forward has made it clear his desire to win is why he’s still playing. He made his presence known in the best way possible when he scored the game-tying goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation (19:42 of the third period) to force overtime for the second consecutive game. It was the latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history, besting the one scored by Tod Sloan in Game 5 of the 1951 Final (at 19:28 of the third).

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): He had three assists in Game 2, and none was prettier or more video game-like than his second, when the Oilers captain skated around Florida center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Aaron Ekblad to pass to a wide-open Leon Draisaitl for a power-play goal to put the Oilers ahead 3-2 at 12:37 of the first.

Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers): The scoring continues for Bennett, who got his 12th road goal of the postseason on Friday to set an NHL record (Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele had 11 road goals in 2018). The center’s five-game road goal streak is a Panthers record, breaking the one he set earlier this postseason.

Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers): The defenseman didn’t have the bomb he’s known for, but his goal from the top of the slot to go up 2-1 at 9:19 of the first period was nevertheless a beauty. Bouchard had three points (one goal, two assists) in the first and is the first defenseman in Stanley Cup Final history with multiple three-point periods (he also had three points in the second period of Game 5 of the 2024 Final against the Panthers).

Stock watch

Sergei Bobrovsky: ⬆️ The Florida goalie had his second straight game with 40 or more saves and this time he was the winner. Bobrovsky made 42 saves in Game 2, one of his biggest coming on forward Kasperi Kapanen in double overtime.

McDavid-Draisaitl connection: ⬆️ Each is impressive on his own but they’re something special when they’re on the ice together. They were connecting once again in Game 2, whether it was combining to set up another teammate, as they did on defenseman Evan Bouchard’s goal, or setting each other up, as McDavid did to Draisaitl on the power play. They were put back together on the same line late in the second period, when the Oilers trailed 4-3.

Panthers defense producing: ⬆️ Florida’s defensemen have been big contributors offensively and that continued in Game 2. Seth Jones scored a goal and had the secondary assist on fellow defenseman Dmitry Kulikov’s goal in the second period. Nate Schmidt had two assists for the second consecutive game.

Oilers special teams: ⬇️ It got a power-play goal, but Edmonton otherwise had its struggles here. It was 3-for-4 on the penalty kill, but was 1-for-6 on their power play and allowed a short-handed goal (Marchand) at 12:09 of the second period.

Emotions: ⬆️ Oh, the snarl and angst between these two was evident from the start of Game 2. The Stanley Cup Final is always fiery, but the emotions got higher much quicker on Friday. Scrums in front of a net, scrums behind the net, scrums along the boards, the Oilers and Panthers were getting in each other’s faces often on Friday.

What we learned

Oilers close but…

It looked as if Edmonton was going to have another cardiac comeback after Perry scored late in regulation. But Florida had the answer in overtime, so the Oilers have to settle for a split at home. Now they’ll try to steal one on the road, where they’re 6-3 this postseason.

Panthers turn the tables

As frustrated as it was to lose Game 1 in overtime, Florida got out of Edmonton with a split in dramatic fashion. Now it will look to keep the momentum going at Amerant Bank Arena. Home ice has been a mixed bag in the postseason for the Panthers (4-3), however, so they’ll look to improve their game there to keep the pressure on the Oilers.