That’s probably not how they drew it up, but a win is a win. Led by Sergei Bobrovsky’s outstanding performance in net, the Florida Panthers took Game 1 from the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3-0. Here are three takeaways from the Game 1 win as the Panthers look to make some adjustments for Game 2 tomorrow night.
Bobrovsky Stood on His Head
The Panthers got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Carter Verhaeghe’s goal. But it didn’t take long for the Oilers to find their footing and give the Panthers everything they had. Fortunately, the Panthers’ Vezina-nominated goaltender was up to the task and had one of his best performances of this year’s playoffs.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 3-0 Loss to Panthers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
We haven’t seen this much from the Panthers this postseason, but they got thoroughly outplayed by the Oilers, who had multiple clean looks on Bobrovsky early in the game. Adam Henrique got in behind the Panthers’ defense and alone on Bobrovsky for a breakaway, but the Panthers’ netminder made the save with his left pad.
Later in the first, Leon Draisaitl managed to stretch the ice and sprung Ryan Nugent-Hopkins loose on a breakaway while they were on the power play, but Bobrovsky again made the save. Just in the first period alone, Bobrovsky saved 1.27 goals above expected. Had it not been for him, the Oilers could have easily taken a lead or at least been tied heading into the first intermission.
Normally, the Panthers get better as the game goes on. That’s been the case for most of the playoffs and was particularly true against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final. But that wasn’t the case in Game 1 against the Oilers, who continued to tilt the ice in their favor until the final horn.
Bobrovsky was particularly tested on the Oilers’ lethal power play, which the Panthers managed to hold off the scoresheet for at least one game. Edmonton had 14 shot attempts, six shots on goal, and five high-danger chances on their man advantage, but nothing found the back of the net, partly because of Bobrovsky’s stellar play.
Bobrovsky finished the night with a 33-save shutout, stopped 3.73 goals above expected, and was a ridiculous 13/13 on high-danger shots. He began the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-0 shutout of the Rangers, but this was his best performance of the playoffs. If the Oilers’ play in Game 1 is an indication of how this series will go, Bobrovsky will need to be at his best.
Panthers Took Advantage of Nurse & Ceci
Oilers fans will tell you without hesitation that the defense pair of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci has been a complete liability for them during the playoffs. They came into last night’s game with a goal differential of minus-5 (5-10), and it only got worse.
Given their struggles during the playoffs, I imagine the Panthers talked about taking advantage of the Nurse and Ceci pairing. On Verhaeghe’s goal, Nurse made a soft play on Sam Reinhart, allowing Reinhart to return the puck to Aleksander Barkov. That caused Ceci to chase Barkov, leaving Verhaeghe in behind the rest of the Oilers’ backcheckers.
On the Panthers’ second goal, Ceci got absolutely cooked by Sam Bennett on a dump-in. Bennett outhustled Ceci to the puck and then got it to a wide-open Evan Rodrigues in the slot because Nurse had lost his coverage.
And the thing is, it’s not like Panthers head coach Paul Maurice got his top forwards out against the Nurse and Ceci pair all that often. Aside from the opening goal, the Verhaeghe, Barkov and Reinhart line logged less than two minutes against Nurse and Ceci. Matthew Tkachuk only played 4:49 against Nurse and Ceci.
Instead, depth players like Bennett and Rodrigues caused problems for Nurse and Ceci. Maurice will likely want Barkov out against Connor McDavid as often as possible. That means Bennett, Rodrigues, etc., will probably keep logging minutes against Nurse and Ceci since they don’t play with McDavid. If they keep scoring goals against them without it coming from top players, that could spell trouble for the Oilers.
Panthers Need To Be Better in Game 2
You’ll take a goalie steal anytime you can get it, especially if it puts you out on the front foot to start the Stanley Cup Final. But let’s not kid ourselves: the Panthers need to play better than they did in Game 1. Bobrovsky was outstanding, but they can’t rely on him to put up a performance like that every time out.
The good news is that the Panthers played one of their worst games of the playoffs and came away with a win. Based on how they’ve played in the postseason so far, you have to expect that they have better in them. But the process of Game 1 is not a sustainable formula for winning the Stanley Cup (at least, I don’t think it is).
The Oilers have way too much firepower to get shut out much longer if they play as they did last night. If Game 2 looks similar to Game 1, the series will likely head back to Edmonton tied up at 1-1. It’s not a cause for concern. Not after one game, one in which the Panthers came out victorious. But they’ll need to be better in Game 2, especially at five-on-five.
Quick Hits
- One key to the Panthers winning the Stanley Cup will be keeping the Oilers’ power play off the scoreboard. They were successful last night, going 3/3 on the penalty kill, but they will need to be a bit more disciplined. Careless high-sticking penalties like Verhaeghe’s on Evan Bouchard can’t happen. That’s just asking for trouble, and the Oilers will eventually make them pay if infractions such as those keep occurring.
- It’s rare to see the Barkov line get crushed at five-on-five, but the Oilers accomplished it last night. Barkov finished with an expected goals share (xG%) of 27.76 percent and was on the ice for 11 scoring chances against. Fortunately for the Panthers, they outscored the Oilers 1-0 with Barkov on the ice. That’s how hockey goes sometimes, but McDavid — who got hard-matched against Barkov — certainly created a fair share of quality chances against Barkov. It’ll be interesting to see if that continues in Game 2.
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