Florida 3 – Edmonton 0 en (Finals Panthers 1-0) Scoring on their first shot on goal Florida took the quick 1-0 lead, then again early in the second period scored for the 2-0 lead before banging in an empty netter for the 3-0 win and earning their first Finals series lead in three Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
Edmonton may have outshot Florida but the Panthers killed off three Oilers power plays, outhit the Oilers by nearly 30 hits, out blocked, and gave the puck away less as Florida’s goaltender Bobrovsky stopped all 32 Edmonton SOG for the shutout.
Winning the first game of the Finals does not guarantee your team the Stanley Cup, but it does go a long way towards establishing momentum, attitude, and getting within three games of hoisting the silver chalice.
Score Stopping Skinner versus Brick Wall Bobrovsky
Goaltending Both Edmonton and Florida are capable of scoring five or six times in a game as well as their goaltenders playing nearly perfect in net.
Will the netminders control the series or will the powerful offenses find their mark? I suppose if we were to ask Forrest Gump he would reply, “a little bit of both”, but that seems wishy washy to me, and as a hockey fanaticus I have to go with my gut instinct on who will win the Stanley Cup. (Buffalo Winter SC prediction: Florida Sweeps)
Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky Started 17 games winning 12, earning one shutout while posting 2.20 goals against average playing at a .908 save percentage.
Edmonton Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Started 16 games winning 11, earning one shutout while posting 2.50 goals against average playing at a .897 save percentage.
Stanley Cup Champion GoaltenderAt first glance your supposition could be that Florida has the edge in net.
But as fans we know at times statistics can be misleading as highlighted by the disparity in SOG that has occurred during these playoffs with teams winning by barely producing 10 or 12 SOG for the entire game.
Florida Panthers versus Edmonton Oilers (Stanley Cup Finals 0-0)
This season’s Stanley Cup will not be won by last year’s champions or even the top three teams from the end of the 2023-24 NHL season, nope, this year Lord Stanley’s cherished cup will be won by either the fourth or ninth place team.
Top to bottom, we watched the defending Cup champs bounced in the first round, New Jersey with 52 wins last season missing the playoffs but the Panthers returned to the Finals while the Oilers waited 18 seasons to get back to hockey’s ultimate destination.
The United States of America against Canada for the World’s most revered sports trophy begins this Saturday night at eight o’clock in the Sunshine State and the NHL has spaced the games out quite a bit highlighted by the provided schedule.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton is optimum offense as the Oilers scored 17 goals in the first three games of the opening round in a 4-1 series victory versus Los Angeles but then the Vancouver Canucks played the Oilers in seven games and Edmonton again out scoring their opponent and winning the series.
Edmonton fell behind in the Stars series 2-1 with their lone victory a double overtime, then the Oilers’ offense resurged for 10 goals over the next three games while allowing their opponent only four goals as Edmonton wins the Semifinals in six games.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers suffocate and maul their opposition into submission as their head coach explains that they are built for one-goal games and in the opening round Florida did just that in the first two games winning 3-2 both times with one in overtime.
Eventually taking the series 4-1 from their state rival Florida advanced to face Boston’s finest and are quickly humbled as the Panthers lose 5-1 in the first game before Florida’s scorers tallied 12 goals over the next two games earning a 2-1 series lead.
Closing out the Quarter Finals in six games the Panthers next faced the formidable Rangers and fell behind in this series as well 2-1 losing twice in overtime, but then won the next three one-goal games to take the series and return to the Finals.
Who Wins?
Either a short series where Florida wins their first Cup or it goes seven games with Edmonton winning their brethren what they believe to be rightfully theirs…I am cheering for the Panthers and their collection of ex-Patriots from the Sabres.
Special Teams & play to protect lead wins it for Oilers
Edmonton 2 – Dallas 1 (Semifinals Oilers 4-2) Edmonton scored two power play goals on the team’s three SOG during the first period while Dallas blanked on the three power plays in the game and finished 0-14 with the man advantage for the series.
Oilers netminder Skinner played the best game of his playoff career last night ensuring Edmonton’s berth in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Oilers after scoring twice with four minutes left in the first period could manage only seven more SOG for the entire game.
Atlantic Division No. 1 Seed Panthers Advance to Cup Finals
Florida 2 – New York 1 (Semifinals Panthers 4-2) No empty net, no power play goals, no officiating drama, two superb goaltenders, and most game statistics were pretty much even across the board save two, “blocked shots” & SOG, the Panthers’ commitment to return to the Finals was evident indeed.
The Rangers did not generate enough offensive zone time and SOG to score and what these low-scoring one-goal games highlight is the absolute necessity to be able to “get the next one” especially in these pressure filled playoff matchups.
Here along the Lake 