Leon Draisaitl scored a power-play goal 19:29 into overtime, fueling the host Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Edmonton erased a 3-1 deficit in regulation and made Florida pay for Tomas Nosek’s delay-of-game penalty late in overtime.
Corey Perry fed superstar captain Connor McDavid, who returned the favor with a cross-slot feed to an unmarked Draisaitl for an easy conversion from the right circle. Draisaitl’s goal was second of the night and ninth of the postseason — with three coming in overtime.
Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Mattias Ekholm each scored a goal, McDavid and Kasperi Kapanen both notched two assists and Stuart Skinner made 29 saves for the Oilers, who will host Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Friday night.
Florida’s Sam Bennett scored twice to set a franchise record with 12 goals this postseason. Eleven of his goals have come on the road, tying the NHL postseason record set by Mark Scheifele in 2018.
Brad Marchand also tallied, Carter Verhaeghe and defenseman Nate Schmidt each notched two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 42 shots for the Panthers.
Bennett extended Florida’s lead to 3-1 after accepting Schmidt’s seam pass before shifting from backhand to forehand before beating Skinner two minutes into the second period.
Arvidsson’s shot from above the left circle handcuffed Bobrovsky to halve the deficit 1:17 later.
McDavid’s saucer feed from behind the net found Ekholm, who wired a shot from the left circle to level the contest at 6:33 of the third.
After being shut out in Game 1 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton got the early jump just 66 seconds into the game.
Defenseman Jake Walman’s shot from just above the left circle fluttered in on Bobrovsky, who was unable to glove the puck. Kapanen’s response was denied by Bobrovsky, however Draisaitl alertly converted from the right doorstep to open the scoring.
The Panthers forged a 1-1 tie at 10:49 of the first after Verhaeghe’s shot caromed in off Bennett while the latter was falling into Skinner. Edmonton unsuccessfully challenged the play, with video review showing Bennett was tripped by Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak before making contact with Skinner.
The Oilers’ unsuccessful challenge resulted in a power play for Florida.
Schmidt’s diagonal pass from the left circle found Marchand at the doorstep for an easy conversion to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 7:30 remaining in the first.
