By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
EDMONTON, Alberta — Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play in overtime, Stuart Skinner made 29 saves and the Edmonton Oilers erased a multigoal deficit to beat the defending champion Florida Panthers, 4-3, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final rematch on Wednesday night.
After Tomas Nosek’s penalty for putting the puck over the glass, Draisaitl’s goal 19:29 into OT sent the home fans into a frenzy and made sure the Oilers would not start this series like they did a year ago, when they fell behind three games to none.
For a while, it looked like they would at least start out trailing. Draisaitl’s goal 66 seconds in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot in past Stuart Skinner after falling into him.
Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL’s situation room ruling that his own player, Jake Walman, tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on the power play.
Bennett scoring his second of the night early in the second period put the Panthers ahead, 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since Coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission.
With Connor McDavid leading the way, the Oilers rallied. Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm – playing just his second game back from an extended injury absence – tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid.
At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or tying it late in the third. Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky did the same, in between derisive chants of “Ser-gei! Ser-gei!” that followed goals he allowed.
Skinner was greeted with friendlier chants of “Stuuuu” after saves, including one in the first minute of overtime on a quality scoring chance. Bobrovsky stone-cold robbed Trent Frederic nine minutes in but eventually cracked.
McDavid had an assist on the game-winner as well.
More to come on this story.
NHL, NHLPA HAPPY WITH PROGRESS OF CBA TALKS
Negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement are progressing well, though there is no timeline on reaching a deal, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said Wednesday.
Bettman, at his annual state of the league address prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, said the sides are “having very constructive, professional, cordial dialogue.” Talks did not begin until April, and there is still quite some time until the current CBA expires in September 2026.
“I don’t have an announcement to make today that we have a deal, but we have more than a year to go and I think we’re in really good shape, having really good discussions,” Bettman said. “That’s a testament to Marty Walsh and Ron Hainsey and people at the Players’ Association who have been working tirelessly with us.”
Walsh said the league and union were having good ongoing conversations, adding there are not major issues on the table to quibble over.
“It’s moving steady, it’s moving forward and I feel good with where we are and we’ll see what happens,” Walsh said. “It gets complicated at certain times, any collective bargaining agreement, but it’s not where it was in the past here where you’re seeing national disputes between organized labor and companies.”
Hainsey, the NHLPA’s assistant executive director, expects the constant meetings to continue during the Final in Edmonton and South Florida.
“We’re all in the same place at the same time,” Hainsey said. “There are multiple days in between these games where we can find something for ourselves to do.”
NO RUSSIANS IN OLYMICS
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league does not expect Russian players to participate in the Olympics next year. That would be status quo for the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation, which has banned Russian teams since that country’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Walsh said players he has spoken to are disappointed not to be able to participate in Milan, the first Olympics with NHL participation since 2014.
“It’s out of their control, and there’s not much they can do,” Walsh said. “There’s not much they can do with what’s happening in Ukraine and Russia, and they want to play best on best. We hear it all the time. They want to play best on best and we were hoping that by this point in time, the conflict or the war would not be where it is.”
EXPANSION?
Daly said the league is not engaging in a formal expansion process to go beyond 32 teams, but officials are listening to potential ownership groups about any proposals.
“If somebody wants to essentially apply for an expansion franchise and has all the requisite elements that we would look for in an expansion franchise, we would raise it with the Board of Governors and see if they have any interest in it,” Daly said. “There are some people we’ve talked to more than others, but there’s a lot of interest, which I think we’re gratified with.”
OILERS’ HYMAN DISLOCATED WRIST AGAINST STARS
Zach Hyman said Wednesday that his right wrist was dislocated late in the Western Conference finals, an injury that is sidelining one of the Oilers’ most valuable forwards for the Stanley Cup Final.
Hyman sported a brace on his right arm after undergoing surgery last week to repair the damage caused by a hit from Dallas’ Mason Marchment in Game 4 of that series.
“I knew it wasn’t good when I got hit,” Hyman said. “Right away, I just felt my wrist kind of go on me. … Quickly realized when I saw the doctors it’s something that needed surgery and something that I wasn’t going to be able to play through.”
Hyman memorably said after the Oilers’ Game 7 loss to Florida last year that he believed they would be back in the Final. In a cruel twist of fate, his teammates are, but the 33-year-old winger is not able to play in the series.
Win it for Hyman has quickly becoming a rallying cry for Edmonton.
“Missing him is big; he’s a huge piece of this team,” veteran Adam Henrique said. “His physicality, net-front presence, in the locker room – all those sorts of things. Just a great person, so we’re certainly going to miss him on the ice but he’ll be there and we’ll certainly fight for him.”
Oilers players video-called Hyman after beating the Stars without him in Game 5 of the West finals to move on to compete for the Stanley Cup again. He said that meant the world to him.
“It caught me off guard,” Hyman said. “I was crying. It was really emotional. You just feel so much a part of the team and for them to do that in that moment meant a lot.”
Hyman is expected to be around the team throughout the Final, flying to Florida and providing whatever insight and moral support he can without lacing up his skates. He called it “acting like I’m playing but obviously not.”
“Some things in life you can’t control,” Hyman said, “and this is one of them.”
GREER OUT
The Panthers are mostly healthy, but they ruled out A.J. Greer for Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. Jesper Boqvist took his place in the lineup.
“It’s important that, fortunately for us, it’s not his first time in the playoffs, so he hasn’t been sitting for a long time and he’s had some pretty good success when he’s come in,” Coach Paul Maurice said of Greer. “And he fits. He’s spent time with all of those players. There’s nothing new for him, so he can come in and just play.”
BROWN BACK
Edmonton is getting a key player back with Connor Brown expected to be back after missing two games because of injury. Coach Kris Knoblauch called the strong two-way winger a game-time decision, while Brown declared himself good to go and all signs pointed to nothing standing in the way of a return.
“He’s been playing great all playoffs,” linemate Trent Frederic said. “He brings a lot of energy, brings a lot of swagger, a lot of jam, so we’re excited to get him back.”
Jeff Skinner, who played more than 1,000 regular-season NHL games in his career before making his Stanley Cup playoff debut in the series opener in the first round and then got scratched until replacing Hyman against Dallas, appears to be out to make room for Brown.
Related Articles
Stanley Cup Final: Panthers and Oilers in a powerhouse rematch Oilers not limping into this Stanley Cup Final against Panthers Oilers finish off Stars, return to Stanley Cup Final Defending champ Panthers oust Hurricanes, return to Stanley Cup Final Corey Perry sparks Oilers to Game 4 win, 3-1 lead on Stars Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Stanley Cup Final: Oilers rally past Panthers in OT in Game 1 )
Also on site :