Stanley Cup Final Game One: What About Bob?

Behold, the Stanley Cup Final has arrived!

It's been six days since the last time the puck dropped, and that was in Edmonton for Game Six of the Western Conference Final. The Edmonton Oilers have had five off days to drink in the fact that they were in the Cup Final for the first time in 18 years, while the Florida Panthers had six off days to bask in the glory of being in the Final for the second straight year. This is the fifth straight Final to feature two teams who had never met in such a setting before, and regarding the stakes, the Panthers have another chance to win their first Stanley Cup, while the Edmonton Oilers are looking to win their sixth Stanley Cup, their first since 1990, and Canada's first since 1993.

Game One took place in Sunrise, Florida--the first time that the Panthers began the Cup Final at home, and it comes 28 years to the day after the Panthers played their first Cup Final game at home--Game Three of the 1996 campaign. Sergei Bobrovsky was in net for the Panthers against Stuart Skinner for the Oilers, and Bobrovsky was tested quite early. He would get some offensive help very quickly, as Carter Verhaeghe scored just 3:59 into the opening frame--the Panthers' first shot on net. Panthers received the game's first power play, that went nowhere, and they were getting horrendously outshot. Even worse for the Panthers, the Oilers had power plays of their own, which added to the shot domination. The first one was killed off, but with 8.8 seconds left in the opening frame, Edmonton received a second one.

Oilers outshot Florida, 12-4, in the first period, but it ended with the home team up 1-0. Panthers killed off the rest of it, and right after, it was Evan Rodrigues who made it 2-0--2:16 into the second period. Things got really rough in the middle of the period; both teams ended up with two players in the box for roughing, and a Sam Bennett penalty gave Edmonton another power play. No go there. Bobrovsky continued to stop everything, and keep it 2-0 after the end of the second period. The third period was a bit more even, but still more of the same. Skinner was pulled for the extra attacker, but all that did was kill more and more of the clock, before Eetu Luostarinen put it in the empty net with five seconds left.

The Panthers won Game One of the Stanley Cup Final, 3-0, and while Carter Verhaeghe had yet another game-winning goal, and Aleksandar Barkov had two assists, the true star of Game One was--of course--Sergei Bobrovsky. For the second straight series, Bobrovsky started a series with a shutout win. The Oilers outshot the Panthers, 32-18, but none of Edmonton's 32 shots went past Bobrovsky. As for the Oilers, Connor McDavid had six shots on goal, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard had four shots each, and Zach Hyman (who has 14 goals during this run) was held to three shots.

The Panthers reached a milestone with their victory: it marks the first time in their 31 year history that they held a series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. This win is only their second Cup Final game victory in franchise history--and their first in regulation, with both wins coming at home. The win also matches their best season in history, which was--of course--last year. So we're officially on sweep watch. Remember: the last Cup Final to end in a four-game sweep was the 1998 Final between the Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals. History is on the Panthers' side; the Game One winner usually goes on to win the Cup. The last time that didn't happen was the 2020 Final, and that was the third of three straight instances when that occurred.

Game Two is Monday in Sunrise.

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