Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup Final is as tight as can be. Game 3 could tilt the series

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — After going the distance in the Stanley Cup Final last year with the Florida Panthers beating the Edmonton Oilers by a goal in Game 7 and being one win apart during the regular season, not much is separating these two NHL powerhouses so far in their championship series rematch.

This final is just about as close as can be through two games, with each team winning once in overtime and knowing full well one puck off the post or into the net could have dramatically changed the situation. That remains the case going into Game 3 on Monday night at Florida, with the very real chance that a couple of bounces and small adjustments could tilt the series one way or the other.

“It’s just the back-and-forth punches of a heavyweight tilt,” veteran Oilers forward Adam Henrique said after practice Sunday. “Every shift matters so much because it might be a 1-0 game and a 2-1 game, and those mistakes that could either cost you or pay dividends for you and keeping that pressure high — that can be the difference.”

This has been a different final than many in the recent past, in part because there’s no underdog in it who no one expected to get this far, the opponents know each other well and the teams are nearly at full strength. That has made for some quality hockey where the goals have piled up and yet the defense and goaltending have at the same time been stellar.

“Everything is contested all over the ice, so you’re having more events and it’s more intense, but what a wonderful thing to be able to say that in the final,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after his team’s optional skate in Fort Lauderdale. “Both teams are competing defensively. They’re blocking shots, they’re battling, they’re backchecking and it’s still a high-event game. That’s some high-end skill.”

That high-end skill has been on display. Three-time league and reigning playoff MVP Connor McDavid fittingly leads all scorers with five points, and longtime Edmonton running mate Leon Draisaitl has matched Florida’s Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand at three goals apiece.

Game 1 finished 4-3 in overtime and Game 2 was 5-4 in double OT. The Oilers have more shots, 92 to 74, while the Panthers have led for over 67 minutes compared to trailing for nearly 28 minutes.

It has been tied for large swaths of regulation, and for all the offense, players acknowledge there has not been a whole lot of ice with which to operate.

“It’s very tight,” said Marchand, who scored the Game 2 winner 8:04 into the second overtime. “You can’t make any mistakes. Just every time you do, they seem to get something off of it. And we’re obviously balanced throughout the lineup, so it’s very tight out there. The games speak for themselves. It’s been a battle. Very intense and a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Like Maurice did after his team lost the opener, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is making some changes going on the road where he does not control the matchups. He jumbled his defense pairs, putting Evan Bouchard with Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm with John Klingberg, and Brett Kulak with Jake Walman.

“We’re always making adjustments to counter whatever teams are doing, who’s playing well,” Knoblauch said. “Fortunately, our players are comfortable with any changes that we do make just because of how much we’ve fluctuated our pairs and lines throughout the season. In Games 1 and 2 we had some changes, and games throughout the rest of the series there’ll be some more.”

The push and pull has been quite something to behold. Tune in to just one period or a handful of shifts and it’s easy to get the idea that one team or the other is dominating, and then not long after it alternates.

“Both teams will have times where they look like they’ve got possession of the game, but it’s just not going to last. It doesn’t last,” Maurice said. “This is so close out there, so you can take a look at that video and I can find you 15 goals for the Edmonton Oilers that just didn’t go in, and I can find you the exact same for the Florida Panthers.”

The emotional ebbs and flows, Maurice insists, are also not as big of swings as it looks from the outside. He didn’t feel as devastated after the Game 1 defeat or as euphoric after the Game 2 triumph as it may have appeared.

His players are accustomed to these waves from losing in the final to Vegas in 2023 and winning in seven games a year ago after surrendering a 3-0 series lead.

“It’s all about staying in the moment,” Panthers winger Sam Reinhart said. “You can’t think too far ahead, and you can’t think too far in the past.”

Draisaitl, who scored the Game 1 OT goal, acknowledged the what-ifs creep into players’ heads in the immediate aftermath of a difficult result. But he and his teammates and their counterparts on the other side understand they can’t dwell too much given the razor thin margin of error.

“Two really good teams going at it,” Draisaitl said. “You have to stay detailed and know that all those little bounces matter.”

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