Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 50: Bobrovsky stops 33 as Panthers win 3-0 in Game 1
The Stanley Cup Final is underway. Would the Florida Panthers secure their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, or would Connor McDavid finally win his first championship in his first chance in the final round? We’re certainly in for an exciting series with plenty of fun narratives.
It certainly got off to a fun start. Sergei Bobrovsky made an attempt to play the puck up the ice, but McDavid got a piece of it and Zach Hyman nearly got an early goal.
EDM FLA G1. June 8, 2024. A Sergei Bobrovsky turn over leads to a Zach Hyman scoring chance.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/bsVBtZO73h
But instead, it was the Panthers that got on the board first a few minutes later. Florida entered the zone on a rush play, and after Aleksander Barkov lured Cody Ceci away from the middle of the ice, the Panthers’ captain set up Carter Verhaeghe in the slot to open the scoring.
CARTER VERHAEGHE GETS THE FIRST GOAL OF THE STANLEY CUP FINAL 🔥 pic.twitter.com/k0B2DAwIe2
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 9, 2024The Oilers thought they had a couple of chances to tie it, but Bobrovsky stood tall throughout the first.
Bobrovsky coming in CLUTCH 🛑
📺: ABC/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/QvukBL1K8z
Yet ANOTHER breakaway save from Sergei Bobrovsky 🤯 pic.twitter.com/jXq9iHRMu5
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 9, 2024Even with the Oilers having a 12-4 edge in scoring chances in the first period, the Panthers had the 1-0 lead, and once they started to even up the play in the second, it favoured them even more. In fact, they needed just 2:16 in the middle frame before getting on the board again, with Sam Bennett making an excellent feed from behind the net to set up Evan Rodrigues for the 2-0 goal.
SAM BENNETT WITH THE DUMP, CHASE, AND APPLE 🍎💪 pic.twitter.com/Wvj6QqAk0R
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 9, 2024From that point on, the Panthers clamped down and kept the play to back and forth chances, rarely giving the Oilers momentum. Despite getting outshot 21-14 in the final two periods, they managed to have a 20-16 advantage in scoring chances. Even if the Oilers had more chances, they couldn’t seem to beat Bobrovsky, and Eetu Luostarinen sealed the deal with the empty net goal.
The Panthers win the game by a score of 3-0 to take a 1-0 series lead. Bobrovsky was the clear-cut star of the game though, making 33 saves to get the shutout and the win.