EDMONTON, Alberta — Leon Draisaitl scored on a power play in overtime, Stuart Skinner made 29 saves and the Edmonton Oilers erased a multigoal deficit to beat the defending champion Florida Panthers 4-3 in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Final rematch on Wednesday night.
After Tomas Nosek‘s penalty for putting the puck over the glass, Draisaitl’s goal 19:29 into OT sent the home fans into a frenzy and made sure the Oilers would not start this series the way they did a year ago, when they fell behind three games to none.
“He’s invaluable,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who set up the tying and winning goals. “He does so many good things: clutch, faceoffs. You name it, he does it.”
For a while, it appeared the Oilers would lose Game 1 this year as well. Draisaitl’s goal 66 seconds in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot past Skinner after falling into him.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL’s situation room ruling that his own player, Jake Walman, tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on a power play.
Bennett scored his second of the night early in the second period to put the Panthers up 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission.
“I mean, they pushed,” Marchand said. “They obviously are a very good team, and doesn’t take much for them to score. So, not surprising, the push they did. They’re a great team. We’ve just got to keep going.”
Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm — playing in just his second game back from an extended injury absence — tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid.
At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or going back ahead late in the third. Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky did the same, in between derisive chants of “Ser-gei! Ser-gei!” that followed goals he allowed.
Skinner was greeted with friendlier chants of “Stuuuu” after saves, including one in the first minute of overtime on a quality scoring chance.
“He was great again,” McDavid said. “He gave us a chance.”
Bobrovsky stone-cold robbed Trent Frederic nine minutes into OT but eventually cracked on Draisaitl’s third overtime goal of these playoffs, tying a postseason record.
“It’s a special feeling,” Draisaitl said. “It’s great for right now but we’ve got to look ahead and get ready for Game 2.”
Game 2 is Friday night in Edmonton before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4.
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