Ryan S. Clarkjun 7, 2025, 01:15 am at
Closeryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
I tried to tell you after Game 1. Unless one of these teams advances with a big margin early in the game, all contests between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup final could be determined in the past 10 minutes or at least one overtime period.
That happened in Game 1, and the Oilers won overtime. What happened again on Friday was the venerable Corey Perry scoring a goal to score a game with 18 seconds left to send to the OT. But they will need overtime before another veteran, Brad Marchand, scores the winning goal to give the Panthers a 5-4 victory. This brings out the series levels as the game heads towards South Florida, starting with Game 3 on Monday.
Now I know how this works. How did both teams perform in another dramatic overtime contest? Who was the outstanding player on each side? And, as always, what are the main questions facing the Oilers and Panthers before Game 3?
The Oilers scored three first-period goals, giving up two in the frame and scoring two more goals as they struggled to gain control in the next period.
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Even all of that, they scored Thai targets late in the third term and found a way to force overtime for consecutive matches against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
There were plenty of ups and downs in Game 2, but the Oilers still had a chance to win.
As strong as the Oilers return, Game 2 strengthened the importance of taking advantage of their opportunities. They controlled ownership in the third term with a shot share of 63.6% and four Heidanger scoring opportunities. They had a shot share of 51.2% in their first OT, but still created five Heidanger scoring opportunities.
Heading towards South Florida, which was tied 1-1, there is a 2-0 successor alternative in the series, just like a year ago. However, given their OT opportunities, this missed the opportunity to have a 2-0 lead heading into Game 3.
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Corey Perry ties Euler’s game with 18 seconds left
Corey Perry scores a miraculous goal for the Oilers with less than 20 seconds left, sending Game 2 into overtime.
How much risk is too much for a team that doesn’t actually die, but do you live in a permanent stagnation that knows you can attack at any time?
This is undoubtedly the main problem the Panthers face in their first overtime, creating multiple scoring opportunities during that time. There was a loose pack that slid underneath the Stuart Skinner’s pad, which John Klingberg removed from the crease. There was a breakaway attempt by Sam Reinhart, which went wild when Skinner snarded in the air and was able to finish the game.
The Panthers began to look left to anti-mark on another set of missed opportunities – getting Marchand to score a game-winning goal, tie the series 1-1 with the second breakaway of the night.
Merchand’s goal wasn’t just to spark his team for the Oilers. It was the difference between the Panthers getting a sense of control after two games or facing a 2-0 series hole after blowing a third-term lead in both contests.
3 stars of ArdaÖcal Game 2
1. Brad Merchand
RW, Panthers
According to Emily Kaplan, “Rat King” already has two traditions in a short stint with the Panthers, after yesterday’s team dinner, he scored a short hand, go-ahead goal in the middle frame, in addition to the team that filmed the plastic rats after the victory. This was Merchand’s second short-handed goal against the Canadian team on June 6th. He also played against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011.
He then scored the winners with double overtime.
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Brad Merchand wins 2ot for the Panthers
Brad Merchand’s second goal of the night wins in Game 2 for the Panthers in double overtime at Edmonton.
McDavid finished with three assists, including what was the best career assist for many NHL players and the best career assist for many, except that McDavid appears to be doing all sorts of games like this.
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McDavid Wizardry sets Draisaitl for Oilers goal
The Oilers take their second lead after Conor McDavid’s sensational assist to sensational Leon Draysightle.
3. First period
What a surprise that you’ll start Game 2! The Panthers attacked first thanks to Sam Bennett in the power play, while the Oilers scored two goals in under two minutes thanks to Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard. Seth Jones tied it up, but a minute later, McDavid made another McMagic kind of play, with Alexander Barkov blowing it away, making Aaron Ekblad look stupid and cooking a sublime pass to Leon Draysitel. Just a reminder, this was all the first period!
There were also 11 penalties in total in the opening 20 minutes, but that doesn’t seem to ruin the flow at all. If anything, it added power plays and 4-on-4 hockey.
Players in Game 3
Evan Bouchard
D, Euler
Bouchard’s Game 2 performance adds to the tricky conversation the Oilers are facing as they reach the offseason. But there will be that soon. Game 2 was his seventh multipoint performance, and the second time this postseason has finished with three points in one game.
This is where the nuance comes into play. Bouchard was involved in all but one of the Oilers’ goals. If Conor McDavid had not, he would have led them at 34:29 on ice time. Receiving that much of the ice time further strengthens the trust he gained from Oilers coach Chris Noblauch. However, Bouchard was on the ice for three goals, including both Marchand’s breakaways, but was evaluated for a pair of cross-check penalties.
It is still said as to how this postseason will end for the Oilers and Bouchard. But if they do so, both parties will have to agree to a new deal for the outstanding Blue Liner. Already in the bridge trade, he is a pending restricted free agent lined up to get a big raise from the $4.3 million salary he’s won the last two seasons. How will his plays in the rest of the series affect those conversations?
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The Oilers lead the deflection of Evan Bouchard
Evan Bouchard gained a second chance opportunity after retrieving the puck from deflection.
What is a more strange perception? The fact that Tkachuk didn’t score a shot at goal until the second half of the third term – is that shot registered with someone else? Or was it the sixth of these playoffs and he didn’t finish with a goal and shot?
Or is it the fact that the Panthers only lost one of the games where Tkachuk didn’t score a shot in goal?
The Panthers have found the offensive contribution they need to win Game 2, but they will not deny that Tkachuk will be the center of their plans if they ultimately win this series. This postseason, Tkachuk responded by scoring points to all but one of those games after finishing without a shot at goal (two of those shotless games were in a row). The goal is important, but it’s just part of the Tkachuk equation, who had only one of the Panthers’ 60 hits. I need more from Florida superstars.
Big Questions about Game 3
Can the Oilers find consistency early, rather than relying on later heroes?
The two games in the series could be sufficient sample size to state that rather than consistently attempting to rely on the abilities of the game as they have done so far, they must improve play immediately from the hop.
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You will not look for the first period of Game 2. Although giving up the two goals did not help their cause, the Oilers found a way to regain control. They had a 55% shot share overall, but they scored 14 shots in goal and scored three goals, including Leon Drysightle’s power play goal, giving a 3-2 lead towards the second term.
But that’s what made the second period so jarring compared to how things started. The Oilers were limited to nine shots, giving up two goals and most played without a puck because they had less than 30% shot share in the period when they scored the third rally to tie the game together and force overtime.
They were losing at the closest margin, and how they played in the second term could have been a difference between the 2-0 series lead vs. the current 1-1 split.
What should the Panthers do to clean up the Oilers in their third season?
In Game 1, the Oilers finished their Panthers’ 31-game winning streak. It happened again on Friday with Perry’s third-half goal, which forces overtime – only on Merchand’s second night to ultimately win the game.
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After allowing three targets in the first period, the Panthers scored second-largest shot share of 70.45%. They had eight Heidanger scoring chances in that frame and counted with two goals, a 4-3 lead that came in third.
It looked like the Panthers would win Game 2. Well, the Oilers are back and tied the game together in the final frame… again.
Once the game was OT, Florida had multiple chances to score in both periods before Marchand tallyed the winners.
Given what happened when Edmonton rebounded from 3-0 to Force Game 7, there’s no need to dig completely into the Oilers’ ability to return.
In a way, the Panthers survived in a way that wasn’t this postseason. They may not be that lucky next time.
