The Edmonton Oilers’ comeback magic ran out in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Oilers entered Friday night with seven comeback wins in this year’s playoffs, including four in which they trailed entering the third period. But though they set a Finals record for the latest game-tying goal when Corey Perry scored with 18 seconds left in the third period, they came up losers when Brad Marchand scored 8:04 into the second overtime to give the Florida Panthers a series-tying 5-4 win.
Perry’s goal broke the mark for latest game-tying goal in the Final, a mark that Tod Sloan of the Toronto Maple Leafs had held since tying Game 5 of the 1951 Final at 19:28 of the third period. But there was no happy ending this time for the large majority of the sellout crowd of 18,347 that filled Rogers Place (Marchand’s parents were among the few Panthers rooters in the house).
Anton Lindell, who had sprung Marchand for a second-period breakaway goal, did it again. His pass found Marchand in stride through the neutral zone, and the 37-year-old raced in alone before sliding the puck between the legs of Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner for the win.
Marchand became the second player aged 37 or older to score in each of the first two games of the Final – and the first forward to do so. The other was Montreal Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson in 1989.
Florida’s win also extended the streak of non-sweeps in the Stanley Cup Final to 27 years. The last sweep in the Final came when the Detroit Red Wings retained the Cup with a four-game blitz of the Washington Capitals in 1998. It also means that there will be no sweeps in any of the 15 series this season.
Instead of going back to South Florida for Game 3 on Monday in a 2-0 hole that only five of 55 teams have climbed out of, the Panthers will take the ice at Amerant Bank Arena even at 1-1 and having taken away the Oilers’ home-ice advantage.
“We came here for a split and got it and we’re just going to recover now,” said defenseman Seth Jones, whose first-period goal made it 2-2. “We wanted to come and just play good hockey. Regardless of the outcome, we wanted to come and be physical, play our game and it’s nice that it’s 1-1.”
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Panthers even Stanley Cup Final with 5-4 double-OT win in Game 2
Marchand earned himself a few lines in Cup Final history.
The goal was the fifth playoff OT goal of his career, tying him with Perry, Florida teammate Carter Verhaeghe and Patrick Kane for the most among active players. With eight points (five goals, three assists), he became the 10th player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with at least eight career overtime points – tying Kane for the most among active players.
At 37 years, 26 days, Marchand became the fourth-oldest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in the Final, behind Igor Larionov of the Detroit Red Wings (41 years, 187 days; Game 3 in 2002), Steve Thomas of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (39 years, 322 days; Game 4 in 2003) and Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes (39 years, 95 days; Game 1 in 2002). Marchand is the second-oldest player with a multi-OT winner in the Final; Larionov’s came in triple overtime.
Though Marchand will get most of the plaudits, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky deserves more than a few after making 42 saves – including one on a wide-open Kasperi Kapanen less than a minute before Marchand’s goal.
“He was terrific,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said after Bobrovsky became the first goalie in playoff history to make at least 40 saves in each of the first two games of the Final. He earned his 58th career playoff win, fourth among all goalies not born in North America and second among Russia-born goalies, trailing only Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (67).
Related: McDavid, Draisaitl OT magic among takeaways from Oilers’ Game 1 win against Panthers
Give the Panthers credit for shaking off the heartbreak of Perry’s goal, a shot from the slot after the 40-year-old fished the carom of a blocked shot out of a maze of legs and snapped it past Bobrovsky. They had the better of the good chances in both of the overtime periods, including three Grade A chances for Marchand before his game-winner.
“I thought we did a really good job of just staying up,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself. It’s the worst thing you can do. We got right back in the room. No one was quiet. We all came together and stayed loud, stayed up. Overtime game, right? They’re a hell of a team, we’re a good team and it’s going to be a hell of a series.
“We got back out there and got the win.”
Despite the Oilers’ late rally, they couldn’t protect 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the first period and lost for just the second time in nine home games this spring. It was also their first loss in five overtime games in the Final.
“We made some great plays and they capitalized on some plays that we probably could have been there (to stop),” Perry said. “That’s hockey. One mistake and it gets magnified, and it did tonight.
“It’s a tough one to swallow, but it’s not supposed to be easy. They played hard tonight. They got their chances, and they capitalized on that one. That’s the difference.”