Stanley Cup: Florida Takes Game 2 Against Edmonton, 4-1

The Florida Panthers took a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to go up 2-0 in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Monday evening. Seeking their first Stanley Cup, the Panthers have shown no signs of backing down throughout the series so far.

TWO DOWN. pic.twitter.com/p1YWByzODp

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 11, 2024

The Panthers won the first game of the series 3-0, scoring in each period of play. Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen all chipped in with goals for Florida.

Nonetheless, the main story of the series opener was Sergei Bobrovsky’s standout performance. The Panthers goalie racked up 32 saves en route to a shutout victory to keep the Oilers at bay.

Offensive Showing In Game 2

Game 2 allowed the Panthers to shine on both ends of the ice. Mattias Ekholm struck first for the Oilers to put the Panthers down 1-0 early in the evening. Florida’s response came nine minutes into the second period when Niko Mikkola nailed a slap shot into the back of the net. This goal came after his own teammate nearly got the puck past Bobrovsky and into their own goal.

From there, Florida did not allow much action from Edmonton’s offense. After only tallying 19 shots on goal all game, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch says his team needs to work on getting more opportunities to score.

The Panthers were able to score three more times, all in the final period of play. Rodrigues sailed a shot into the net early in the third before scoring again with eight minutes remaining. In the first two games of his first career Stanley Cup Finals, the Florida center scored three goals. This puts him atop the leaderboard for most goals through two career Stanley Cup Finals matchups. Aaron Ekblad would put the final nail in the coffin of Game 2, scoring on an empty-net goal with three minutes to go.

In the series thus far, Bobrovsky has only allowed one goal, putting him on the list of least goals allowed through two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It's been tough to beat Sergei Bobrovsky and the @FlaPanthers in the 2024 #StanleyCup Final.

Game 1: 0 GA
Game 2: 1 GA#NHLStats: https://t.co/LNA3MljFgp pic.twitter.com/mURfDn9IPw

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 11, 2024

Up Next

The series will now head north, as the Oilers will host the Panthers in Edmonton over the next two games. Puck drop in Thursday’s Game 3 matchup is set for 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.