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Find your frequency hereOvertime winner splits thrilling Stanley Cup series
AP • June 7th, 2025 4:50 pm
Photo: AP
Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway in double overtime as defending champion Florida punched back against Edmonton in Game 2 to level their Stanley Cup Final rematch.
The Panthers won 5-4 on Friday night (Saturday NZST), with Marchand's second goal of the night coming 8:04 into the second OT.
It allowed Florida to escape with a split after Corey Perry scored to tie it with 17.8 seconds left in the third period and Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker.
Each of the first two games this final have gone to overtime, for the first time since 2014 and just the sixth in NHL history.
Much like last year and the playoff run to this point, Sergei Bobrovsky was dialled in when he was needed the most, making some unreal saves while stopping 42 of the 46 shots he faced. His teammates provided the necessary goal support.
Along with Marchand, Sam Bennett scored his postseason-leading 13th goal and NHL record 12th on the road. Seth Jones scored into a wide-open net after some spectacular tic-tac-toe passing, and fellow defenceman Dmitry Kulikov tied it with a shot through traffic that Stuart Skinner almost certainly didn't see.
Kulikov's goal came after Florida controlled play for several minutes in the second, hemming Edmonton in their zone shift after shift and piling up a 34-13 advantage in shot attempts during the period.
Marchand's OT goal was his 10th career goal in the final to lead all active players.
Game 3 is on Monday night (Tuesday NZST) as the teams traverse the continent and play shifts to Sunrise, Florida.
The Panthers wrested home-ice advantage away from the Oilers by splitting the first two, rebounding from a Game 1 overtime loss and asserting they won't go quietly against Draisaitl and Connor McDavid looking like they'll do everything in their power to hoist the Cup for the first time.
Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stops another Edmonton attack | Photo: AP
Of course, those stars had their moments. They assisted on Evan Bouchard's goal when coach Kris Knoblauch put them on the ice together, and McDavid stickhandled through multiple defenders in highlight-reel fashion to set up Draisaitl scoring on the power play.
There were a lot of those - 10 in total - after officials whistled 14 penalties, including three in the first four minutes. Each team had a few calls they were not happy with, though most of that evened out over the course of the game.
