The Florida Panthers have had few shots and have played poorly at times, but they still found a way to beat their opponents. Edmonton Oilers The Red Devils won 3-0 in Saturday's first game of the Stanley Cup Final.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky saved 32 shots, kept the game shutout and stifled the Oilers’ offense and power play.
Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save as Edmonton Oilers goalie Zach Hyman (18) looks on during the second period of Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, Saturday, June 8, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida.
The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette
The Oilers, who will resume their best-of-seven series at Amerante Arena on Monday night, insist there are plenty of positives to be learned from Game 1, including ideas on how to perform better in Game 2.
Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner, who made 15 saves in the opener, said his team “played great the whole game.” “We feel confident in our group if we can play like we did (Saturday),” forward Zach Hyman said.
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Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said he was happy his team won its first game at home and believed his team could play better.
“They played well and we played well enough to win the game, and we really fought hard and played good defense,” Tkachuk said.
The fact that Florida won despite being in second place for much of Game 1 has to be concerning.
“They're only going to get better,” Oilers coach Chris Knoblauch said. “We're going to see a lot more from them.”
Panthers captain Alexander Barkov said on Monday they desperately needed to get to their level faster.
“We know we need to do better,” he said. “Edmonton is an incredible team with a lot of quality players on their roster. It's going to be a tough game.”
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