Bobrovsky stymies ‘elite’ Oilers in Game 1 win
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
SUNRISE, Fla. — For the first time in franchise history, the Florida Panthers have a lead in the Stanley Cup Final. They have Sergei Bobrovsky to thank for it.
The Panthers goaltender shut out Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Saturday night, 3-0. He took on the Oilers’ explosive scoring talent — and their dominant power play — and stopped all 32 shots he faced, as jubilant Panthers fans chanted “Bobby!” in his honor.
“It’s fun to play against those guys, those elite guys,” Bobrovsky said. “They are a great offensive team. They bring a good challenge.”
There had been 15 previous shutouts in Game 1 of the Cup Final, the last one coming in 2011 by Vancouver Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo, who is now a member of the Panthers’ front office. Bobrovsky is the oldest goalie (35 years, 252 days) to record a shutout in Game 1 of a Cup Final.
The Oilers outshot the Panthers 32-18, including a 12-4 advantage in the first period. For the majority of the 2024 postseason, Bobrovsky hasn’t faced the same kind of shot volume that he did in Florida’s run to the finals last season. That wasn’t the case in Game 1 as the Oilers had 32 shots on 70 shot attempts. He handled the increased shot volume perfectly.
“He’s just been unreal. His preparation is incredible. He’s everything that you want in a teammate and especially a goalie,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “He was there for us tonight.”
Florida built its lead in each period. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Carter Verhaeghe‘s 10th goal of the postseason at 3:59 of the first period, converting an Aleksander Barkov pass to send the home fans into an early frenzy.
“He’s an unusual performer, that man,” coach Paul Maurice said of Verhaeghe. “He can raise that level of play. I don’t know that I have much to say about it. I don’t know that I fully understand it. That guy’s a gamer.”
Florida made it 2-0 on an Evan Rodrigues goal on a great feed from center Sam Bennett at 2:16 of the second. Then Eetu Luostarinen iced it with an empty-netter in the third period.
Bobrovsky had a series’ worth of highlight-reel saves in Game 1. He stopped breakaway chances from Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the latter on a tremendous pad save. He was there for a McDavid deflection from a Leon Draisaitl pass in the third.
“He’s amazing down low and he’s also amazing up high. It’s hard to beat him. He’s an incredible goalie. He does a great job sealing the ice,” Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. “You’ve just got to somehow find a way to score a goal on him. We’ve been playing some top-end goaltenders and it’s never easy to beat these guys.”
The Oilers had an 18-6 advantage in high-danger shot attempts in Game 1. Bobrovsky was poised to handle all of them and handed Edmonton its first shutout of the playoffs.
“Maybe it was the hockey gods getting us back for that Game 6 [against Dallas] where we probably didn’t deserve to win,” McDavid said, referencing the game in which the Oilers were outshot 34-10 but eliminated the Stars for the Western Conference title. “Tonight, maybe we deserved at least one goal, maybe two, and we don’t find a way to get them.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said there was a lot to like about his team’s game, but that Edmonton needs to find another level for Game 2.
“We know that we’re going to have to get even better,” he said. “We know that probably wasn’t Florida’s best game. We expect them to be much better. I think they [were] probably caught off guard with you guys talking about how good they were and we didn’t have a chance in this series.”
The most impactful part of Bobrovsky’s Game 1 masterpiece was on the Panthers’ penalty kill. This special teams showdown was expected to be the most critical matchup of the finals: Edmonton’s all-world power play, converting over 37% of its opportunities, against Florida’s penalty kill, second in the playoffs at 88.2% and coming off a conference finals in which it thwarted 14 of 15 New York Rangers power plays.
Bobrovsky made six saves as the backbone of the Panthers’ kill in Game 1.
“There’s nights where you will say that the driver of [the penalty kill] is the players, but tonight the driver of it was Sergei,” Maurice said. “With those elite shooters, you’re not getting through that penalty kill without your goaltender at some point.”
Game 2 is Monday night. Teams that win Game 1 of the finals have gone on to win the series 76% of the time. Each of the past three Cup winners won Game 1.
It was a big victory for the Panthers on Saturday night, thanks to their star goaltender.
“Every win is a big win,” Bobrovsky said. “But it’s a long series. So, we’re going to reset, refocus and get ready for the next fight.”
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Ryan S. Clark
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Kristen Shilton
There’s an ancient South Florida proverb about numbers: Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four.
Opening the Eastern Conference finals with five goals in Game 1 on Tuesday showed that at least for one game the Florida Panthers could find a breakthrough against the Carolina Hurricanes. Only for Thursday to arrive and the Panthers to once again post five more goals in a 5-0 win to take a 2-0 series lead before heading back to Sunrise for Game 3.
How did both teams perform? Who are the players to watch next game, and what are the big questions facing the Hurricanes and Panthers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday?
Say what you will about the offside goal being akin to Charlie Brown getting the football pulled out from under him by Lucy. While it’s possible that the disallowed goal could have provided momentum, there were other things that suggested the Hurricanes were going to struggle.
Under Rod Brind’Amour, they’ve become one of the teams that consistently generates the highest number of shots per game. They entered Game 2 averaging 33.2 shots per game, yet they hadn’t even cracked double digits until there was 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Natural Stat Trick’s metrics showed they had two high-danger scoring chances midway through the third period, and after giving up seven goals throughout the entirety of the second round, they’ve allowed 10 goals in the first two games.
Or view it this way: The Panthers had more goals than the Hurricanes had high-danger scoring chances. — Clark
What more is there to say about Florida, really? The term “clinic” doesn’t seem to cover it. The Panthers have done it all against Carolina in these first two games.
Thursday was another dominant performance by the reigning Stanley Cup champions in an offensive and defensive effort that requires no notes. The Panthers set a tone early with Gustav Forsling‘s goal just 1:17 into the game and never relented. The Hurricanes were averaging over 33 shots per night in the postseason (second most among playoff teams), and Florida limited their chances to seven shots through the first two periods alone — while the Panthers pummeled Carolina with 16 shots and four goals in the same span. It was enough to chase Frederik Andersen from the net, when he was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov with a four-goal deficit.
The Hurricanes’ top scorers were simply no match for Florida’s attack or a locked-in Sergei Bobrovsky, who, while not heavily challenged, was a match for all comers in a 16-save shutout. The way Florida is playing right now, one has to wonder how the Hurricanes can get back in this series as the teams shift down to Florida. — Shilton
Three Stars of Game 2
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Panthers go up 3-0 on Sam Bennett’s power-play goal
The Panthers threaten to run away with it after Sam Bennett’s power-play goal makes it 3-0 in the first period.
He had two goals and a helper, as the Panthers dominated the Hurricanes in Game 2. This is Bennett’s second career 3-plus point playoff game and second career multigoal playoff game.
2. Team defense
The Hurricanes were averaging 33.2 shots per game this postseason, second in the playoffs to the Colorado Avalanche. But the Panthers, with their efficient and suffocating defense, held Carolina to five shots in the first 30 minutes of the game. Near the end of the second period, the fans at Lenovo Center were growing tired of it and started chanting “shoot the puck” at their team. Carolina did have more shot volume in the third period, ending with 17, but nothing got past Sergei Bobrovsky.
3. Offside reviews and coaching tactics
Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of lengthy offside reviews. I wish there was a timer — if you can’t make the call in 90 seconds, then the call on the ice stands. But the Florida Panthers executed one to perfection in Game 2. Up 3-0 in the second period, the Hurricanes scored, but thinking the play was offside, the Panthers called a timeout to buy more time to see every angle available, eventually calling for the challenge. It was indeed determined to be offside and the goal was taken away. — Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 3
Let’s start here with the Hurricanes. There’s no shortage of options. Part of the reason Svechnikov is in this space is because he leads the Hurricanes in goals this postseason. The rest of it has more to do with whether the Canes can rely on a certain postseason pattern for Svechnikov holding true. After going goalless in Games 2 and 3 against the New Jersey Devils in the first round, he responded with a hat trick. He didn’t score in the first two games against the Washington Capitals only to then score a goal in three straight games. Could Svechnikov respond by grabbing at least one goal in Game 3? Or are the Canes in store for more offensive struggles once they arrive in Sunrise? — Clark
The Panthers’ instigator had been quiet since Florida’s first-round series win over Tampa Bay, recording just five assists in eight games heading into Game 2 against Carolina. But Tkachuk looked more like himself Thursday, agitating the Hurricanes and making his physical presence felt. He also emerged early on the score sheet, registering an assist on Gustav Forsling’s game-opening salvo and adding a goal — Tkachuk’s first in 10 games — in the opening period to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0. It was a testament to how commanding Tkachuk’s line was with Sam Bennett (two goals and an assist) and Carter Verhaeghe (three assists) that he was able to finally appear as the Tkachuk of old. If this was indeed Tkachuk’s reawakening after a slow stretch, then the Hurricanes better be well aware of Tkachuk going forward because he was as dangerous as ever at both ends of the ice in Game 2. — Shilton
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Matthew Tkachuk taps it in to pad the Panthers’ lead
Matthew Tkachuk sneaks the puck past the goalie to pad the Panthers’ lead against the Hurricanes.
Big questions for Game 3
What’s the response to their worst playoff loss this year?
Several questions will be asked when it comes to what adjustments can be made before Game 3. Could one of them be about what the Hurricanes must do to get off to a stronger start? Allowing two first-period goals in Game 1 already presented the reality that the Panthers were going to remain aggressive. But to then give up the first goal less than two minutes into the first before giving up three in total in an opening frame that saw the Panthers record just five shots on net? That only adds to the degree of difficulty for a team that has now lost two straight playoff games after losing two postseason games in total over the first two rounds, especially when the last time the Hurricanes were down 0-2 to the Panthers in a playoff series was during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals in which they were swept. — Clark
Will Sam Reinhart be back at full strength for the Panthers?
Florida saw one of its top skaters exit in the first period after Sebastian Aho delivered a hit that forced Reinhart out for the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury. While Florida had Game 2 well in hand even before Reinhart became unavailable, it’s safe to say the Panthers are a better team when he’s in the lineup. Reinhart’s status going forward is significant for Florida overall. Reinhart paced the Panthers with 39 goals and 81 points in the regular season and notched 11 points in 13 postseason tilts going into Game 2. Florida must hope that Reinhart isn’t just available for Game 3 (and beyond), but that he’s not too banged up to continue operating at a high level. — Shilton
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