The Florida Panthers picked up a critical Game 2 victory on Friday (June 6), dispatching the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in double overtime thanks to Brad Marchand’s game winner. It was a classic game that had lead changes, momentum swings, and some spectacular individual efforts. For Florida, although they are certainly happy with the win, there are several areas for improvement that they can learn from moving forward in this series.
Stay Out of the Penalty Box
It is no secret that the Oilers have one of the best power plays in the NHL. They have converted 28% of their opportunities this postseason. The lethal playmaking abilities of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard make them as dangerous a power-play trio as any in the league.
So far this series, the Panthers have afforded the Oilers 10 power-play opportunities. In Game 2, they gave the Oilers six, most of which were in the first period. While Florida’s identity is to play physical and chippy, several of the penalties they took were silly and avoidable. Seth Jones’ takedown of Corey Perry late in the first period, a penalty that put the Oilers on a five-on-three, was a prime example. Florida needs to do a better job of staying out of the box.
Play More Aggressively With the Lead
After a dominant, resurgent second period, the Panthers came into the third period on Friday with a 4-3 lead and had the Oilers on their heels. In that second period, they had played disciplined and physical, and crushed the Oilers on the walls and with their heavy offensive zone cycle.
Their aggressiveness evaporated at the onset of the third period. Florida’s defensemen seemed resolved to chip every puck they corralled off the glass rather than making tape-to-tape passes, and their forwards played really passively every time there was an opportunity to create offense. Outside of one shift with about five minutes left in the period, Florida had virtually no sustained offense in the third.
Related: Panthers Defeat Oilers 5-4 in Double Overtime Thriller in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final
The more consequential part of their lack of third-period aggressiveness is that they actually gave up several high-quality chances to the Oilers. The Oilers peppered Sergei Bobrovsky with difficult shots in the third: there was Connor Brown’s near-breakaway off a neutral zone transition, Leon Draisaitl’s one-timer off a beautiful saucer pass from McDavid, and eventually Corey Perry’s game-tying goal with 18 seconds remaining.
Florida is at their best when they are playing aggressively and imposing their heavy style of play. They need to maintain this style regardless of what the scoreboard says.
More Offensive Production From Their Stars
Of course, this is easier said than done, especially against a team as fast and dangerous as the Oilers. However, if the Panthers are to ultimately win this series, they need their star players to not just score but create more consistent offensive pressure. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk, Florida’s three leading scorers in each of the last two seasons, have combined for just one assist and a minus-7 rating in Games 1 and 2 of this series.
Florida’s offense thus far has come from their depth players and their defensemen. In particular, Sam Bennett and the Brad Marchand-Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell line have been incredibly dynamic all playoffs and have carried Florida’s offense in this series (from ‘Marchand finding a home on Lundell’s line. The Panthers have used this blueprint before,’ Miami Herald, April 9, 2025). It is unsustainable that those four headline the scoresheet; Florida needs their top players that are put in the biggest situations to lead offensively.
Continue Playing Physical
This is not necessarily an area of improvement given that the Panthers have done a great job of being physical these first two games. However, it is a particularly pertinent factor given that the first two games in what projects to be a long series have both gone to overtime. Connor McDavid led all forwards in ice time both games, playing 31:12 in Game 1 and 35:07 in Game 2. That type of usage can be really wearing down the line, especially against a Panthers team that has made it a point to hit, crosscheck and slash McDavid every opportunity they get. It will be interesting to see if McDavid and some of Edmonton’s other top players start to show signs of fatigue in the later part of this series.
Looking Ahead
Games 1 and 2 have been as tightly contested as advertised. However, from Florida’s perspective, there are still several areas to tighten up moving forward to try to continue to slow down Edmonton’s vaunted offense.
