Stanley Cup Final Game 2 live blog: Oilers vs. Panthers 

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Welcome to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final from Amerant Bank Arena. NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price was inside the arena for the Florida Panthers' 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers to provide all the sights, sounds and highlights.

11:11 p.m. ET

Well that’s it from Sunrise. The Panthers score an impressive 4-1 win to take a 2-0 series lead.

The Oilers are clearly frustrated after their offense got shut down by the Panthers.

Now the fans are all singing “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit, and that’s exactly what this place is, lit.

And now they are chanting “We want the Cup.”

It’s back to Edmonton and the drawing board for the Oilers.

Of course, team NHL.com will be heading to Oil Country as well. Please follow the site for all the postgame coverage and all the off-day coverage tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading along. See you all in Edmonton.

11:07 p.m. ET

This one is just about over.

The Oilers had a full 6-on-4 for two minutes and didn’t get one shot on goal.

It’s been a slog for Edmonton tonight. It just can’t seem to get anything going.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are tying to do what they can, but it’s just not working.

A few seconds after the power play ended, Aaron Ekblad scored into the empty net to pretty much put this one away.

The Panthers played their game all night, and the Oilers have to be wondering how they are going to figure this out. They have two days before Game 3.

11 p.m. ET

We are down to the final minutes here in Game 2, and the Panthers are closing in on a 2-0 series lead.

The Oilers had a chance to score, but Sergei Bobrovsky made a big pad save on Connor McDavid with 5:53 left.

It’s been a frustrating two games for McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. If I had told you that after two games the Oilers would have one goal and it would have been from Mattias Ekholm, you would have told me I’m nuts.

Of course, Florida has goals from Evan Rodrigues and Niko Mikkola, so what can I tell you?

It’s funny, the Oilers were asked yesterday about possibly trying to shoot high on Bobrovsky, but honestly, they haven’t done much shooting at all.

They have 18 shots on goal with 4:54 left, including 11 in this period.

They need something here in the final minutes, or they will be going home down 0-2. They have already pulled the goalie. Desperate times.

And now they go on the power play. It’s not over yet folks.

10:52 p.m. ET

This is turning into the Evan Rodrigues show. The NHL.com blogger scored his second goal of the game and third of the Final to give Florida a 3-1 lead with 7:31 left.

It’s a power-play goal, and the Oilers are in big trouble now.

It’s the first power-play goal for either team in this series, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for Edmonton.

The fans are riding Stuart Skinner here, but honestly, he’s probably been the best Oilers player tonight. He’s made 23 saves and has been getting bombarded all night.

This place is jumping as the fans can feel the Panthers are close to being halfway to the Cup.

10:50 p.m. ET

Things are getting chippy again, and this time it’s Aleksander Barkov who is down on the ice after taking a shot in the face from Leon Draisaitl. He eventually got up and went to the room, but he looked woozy.

Draisaitl was given a roughing minor.

Clearly, the Oilers need to kill this off to have any chance

There is concern in the rink for Barkov, and the fans are booing Draisaitl’s name.

10:39 p.m. ET

With the Oilers looking for a spark, coach Kris Knoblauch has put Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line.

Why not at this point? The Oilers have 13 shots on goal with 11:17 left in the game and trail 2-1.

They have not had a serious scoring chance except for the goal scored by Mattias Ekholm in the first period.

Sergei Bobrovsky, as great as he played in Game 1, hasn’t been tested much.

Stuart Skinner on the other hand, is getting peppered with shots -- 26 to this point -- as his defensemen are not really helping him out.

The Panthers keep showing some guy on the video board and it causes the fans to go crazy. We have figured out that the guy sort of looks like Ric Flair, so when they show him the fans go, “Woooooo.”

They’ve showed him about 3-4 times today.

10:31 p.m. ET

NHL.com blogger Evan Rodrigues has given the Panthers a 2-1 lead after an awful turnover by Evan Bouchard. The Oilers defenseman had the puck on his stick and just gave it right back to Rodrigues, who beat Stuart Skinner over the blocker.

Now this place is going nuts, and the Oilers have to be wondering when things are going to go right fo them. They still have only 10 shots on goal and really can’t seem to get anything going.

Now they are going to, but Sergei Bobrovsky just made perhaps his best save of the night, prompting the fans to start chanting “Bob-by, Bob-by.”

So, if you are scoring at home, your goal-scorers in this talent-laden Final are Mattias Ekholm, Niko Mikkola and Evan Rodrigues.

The Oilers need one more on their end to tie this game and have a chance to tie the series.

10:26 p.m. ET

Here we go. Twenty minutes of regulation left (and maybe more) to see if the Panthers are going up 2-0 or we will head to Edmonton tied.

Darnell Nurse is back on the Edmonton bench and appears ready to do a regular shift, which is big news for Edmonton.

Clearly, the Oilers need more shots on goal. They have seven through two periods. That’s not going to work.

10:06 p.m. ET

That’s the end of the second period on a very strange night in Amerant Bank Arena.

We are through 40 minutes, and the Oilers, with two of the most dynamic offensive players in the NHL, have a total of seven shots on goal (including just three in the second period).

Darnell Nurse is injured but played a 28-second shift in the second period, so who knows his status for the rest of the game. The Oilers are already without forward Warren Foegele, who got a game misconduct in the first period.

So Edmonton is playing with 11 forwards and five defensemen.

The Panthers have 21 shots on goal but also have just one goal.

The crowd is not as lively as it was in Game 1 because this has been a strange game. Lots of whistles, lots of starts and stops.

And, of course, your goal-scorers are two defensemen who don’t score a lot -- Mattias Ekholm for the Oilers and Niko Mikkola for the Panthers.

9:56 p.m. ET

First the news, Darnell Nurse got back on the ice for one shift in the second period, which is a good sign for Edmonton.

The Oilers went on the power play after Connor McDavid was tripped in the defensive zone.

McDavid was picking up speed, made a move, and Carter "Swaggy" Verhaeghe tripped him.

The fans are booing and saying some nasty things about the refs, but it was a clear penalty.

The Panthers almost took another penalty, but they avoided a delay of game penalty when the refs determined Kevin Stenlund just got the puck out of the defensive zone before lifting it out of play.

The Panthers are now heading to the power play with 3:40 left in the second after Evan Bouchard took a slashing penalty.

9:45 p.m. ET

The Panthers are on the board, and of course it’s a goal from Niko Mikkola. He takes a pass from Anton Lundell and rips a one-timer past Stuart Skinner, and we are tied.

The goal comes on the Panthers’ 15th shot of the game -- 10 more than Edmonton as this point.

And now this place is on fire again and the fans are back.

With Darnell Nurse looking like he’s not going to play, and Warren Foegele already out because of a game misconduct, the Oilers are playing two men down.

They seem to be very selective with their shots today, almost trying to be too perfect. We have played 31 minutes and they have a total of five shots on goal.

9:39 p.m. ET

This game is a replay of Game 1, sort of. The Panthers are dominating in shots on goal, holding a 15-4 edge with 10:52 left in the second period, but trail 1-0.

Darnell Nurse is back on the bench for the Oilers. He was injured in the first period and didn’t play the final 11:37 of the period. He took a twirl before the second started, went to the room and now is back, but he has not gone on the ice, so it doesn’t appear as if he’s coming back in.

He could be there for moral support.

The Panthers have the edge in shots, but don’t look crisp and this place is a lot quieter than it was Saturday night.

One guy who hasn’t given up is a security guard standing behind me and Amalie Benjamin. He’s cheering every play, and just said, “C’mon boys.”

9:26 p.m. ET

As the second period begins, it doesn’t look good for Darnell Nurse. The Oilers defenseman didn’t play the final 11:37 of the first period after taking a hit from Evan Rodrigues. He was on the bench to start the second period, took a twirl on the ice and then went back to the room.

The Panthers started the second on the power play, but once again took a penalty. This time it was Matthew Tkachuk hooking Connor Brown. The Panthers are very undisciplined tonight.

We just had hockey royalty in the press box, and I don’t mean Mike Zeisberger. Wayne Gretzky walked by a few minutes ago. I missed him, because I was reloading my cup of M&Ms, but NHL.com international’s Matt Cubeta told me he saw him.

And, if you are watching the game on ABC, you saw Sir Charles Barkley during the intermission show.

9:06 p.m. ET

The Panthers may have dodged a bullet with Aaron Ekblad back on the ice after he appeared to injure his foot or leg getting tangled up with Connor McDavid. He went to the bench and the room but came back.

The same could not be said for Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, who didn’t play the final 11 minutes of the first period after he took a hit from Evan Rodrigues. It could be a hip injury.

Clearly would be a huge issue for Edmonton if he doesn’t came back especially with the Oilers already down forward Warren Foegele, who took a game misconduct.

The Oilers lead 1-0 after the first period, but the Panthers will have 1:14 of power-play time to start the second after Evan Bouchard went off for roughing at 19:13.

8:56 p.m. ET

This game is weird. In Game 1, the Oilers had a huge shot advantage in the first period, but the Panthers scored on their first shot on goal.

With 4:05 left in the first period, the Oilers are being outshot 8-2, but scored on their first shot on goal.

Crazy stuff.

That’s baseball, Suzyn.

Anyway, the Panthers’ five-minute power play, which became three minutes, did not result in a goal.

Despite a sea of red in the crowd, there are some Oilers fans here.

There was a definite cheer when Mattias Ekholm scored in the first period, and when Stuart Skinner makes a save, you can hear a small group chant “Stuuuu.”

8:50 p.m. ET

We’ve had another big turn of events here. A few second after Florida defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson took a tripping penalty, Mattias Ekholm comes down and scores to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The goal came on Edmonton’s first shot on goal. Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl came down on a 2-on-1, and the defenseman kept it himself and got it through Sergei Bobrovsky's pads.

Just when it looked like the Panthers had a chance to put this game away with the five-minute power play, the Oilers instead take the lead, and this place is a bit stunned.

8:42 p.m. ET

It’s gone from bad to worse for the Oilers here midway through the first period.

The Oilers power play not only fails to score, it doesn’t get a shot on goal. It was a combination of perhaps Edmonton looking for the perfect shot and Florida being super aggressive.

But it didn’t look good. Tom Gulitti wrote today about the Panthers looking to hit another level on the penalty kill, and they certainly looked good there.

A few minutes later, Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen had his knee taken out by Oilers forward Warren Foegele, which resulted in a five-minute major. Clearly a huge call.

Now Florida has a chance to go on the power play and score as many times as it can in five minutes, and the Oilers will be down a forward the rest of the game, with Foegele getting tossed.

8:33 p.m. ET

The Panthers are playing Panthers hockey here early. They are pinning the Oilers deep in their zone and not letting them get out easily. The Oilers have yet to get a shot on goal, while the Panthers have three.

This is the style of play the Panthers used to to get through the first three rounds.

But hold on, the Oilers are getting a power play with Sam Bennett going off for tripping Evan Bouchard. They are shoveling the ice, so the Oilers will have a clean sheet to try to get their first goal of the Final.

We had our first Beastie Boys song of the Final during a break in the first period, with “Fight for Your Right” playing for a few minutes.

That was followed up by "DNA." By Kendrick Lamar (yes, I needed Shazam to help me with that one).

8:26 p.m. ET

We’re just a few minutes into this game, and the Panthers already look much better than they did in Game 1. The Oilers have yet to have any offensive zone time and don’t have a shot on goal. It’s only been a few minutes, but you can see a change in Florida already.

The fans here are already on Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. I’m surprised they don’t so some sort of "Simpsons" video with them yelling “Skinner” at Principal Skinner.

Maybe for Game 5.

NBA and Miami Heat legend Alonzo Mourning was the pregame drum banger for Game 2.

It was Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel for Game 1, and Shawn Roarke, a huge New England Patriots fan, was not happy about that.

8:20 p.m. ET

The anthems have been sung, the Oilers have been booed, the fans have chanted ‘Bob-by, “Bob-by,” and we are ready to go.

This place is absolutely nuts, and did I mention loud?

One thing they do here before the Panthers hit the ice is a show a video of each player with his nickname. You have Barky (Aleksander Barkov), and Chucky (Matthew Tkachuk) among others, but my favorite is Swaggy for Carter Verhaeghe.

After that, the video board and the PA announcer asked the crowd, "Who’s Ready?"

We will find out in the next 60 minutes of hockey.

It’s time to play.

8 p.m. ET

First the news. Sam Carrick will play tonight for the Oilers, with Corey Perry coming out. Derek Ryan took warmups but will not play.

Not surprisingly, this place was extremely loud with brain-blasting music thumping all through warmups.

As I said in the blog the other night, this fan base is extremely loud and loyal. The team has done an amazing job building not only a championship-caliber team, but one that has connected with the community. It’s really something else.

I think it will be key for the Oilers to get the first goal. They played really well on Saturday but could not score on Sergei Bobrovsky. If they can get a goal early they can sort of shatter the Bobrovsky mystique and put the Panthers on their heels a bit.

If they fall behind and have to play catch up, well, it could be a long night.

Look for the Oilers to shoot high on Bobrovsky tonight. Of the 38 goals he’s allowed in the postseason, 22 have come on high shots. He is so great stopping the puck on ice level, so the Oilers need to elevate their shots.

The players are back in the dressing rooms. We have about 20 minutes till puck drop.

While the Oilers have some lineup changes, NHL.com also made a small change in the press box seating assignments. We have six seats in the regular press box and four seats in the auxiliary press box. On Saturday, it was me, Shawn Roarke, Nick Cotsonika, Mike Zeisberger, Amalie Benjamin and Derek Van Diest in the main press box.

Tonight, Tracey Myers is subbing out for Cotsonika. We were going to move Amalie to the aux box, but it’s her birthday, so we let her stay. Happy birthday.

Also in the press box is our NHL.com independent correspondent George Richards, who is pretty much a king in South Florida. He showed me around down here when I covered the first round between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and he’s recommended a good seafood place for team NHL.com the other night. But he outdid himself tonight, bringing me another souvenir cup from Flanigan’s restaurant, which is a local establishment. I got a green cup in April, and now I have a pink one. Mrs. Price will be thrilled.

7:46 p.m. ET

The teams are on the ice for warmups and it looks like Corey Perry is being scratched tonight, with Derek Ryan apparently getting back in. Although Sam Carrick is out for warmups as well, so Carrick could be in instead of Ryan.

Perry was a minus-1 in 8:45 of ice time in Game 1. He had played four straight games before tonight.

Ryan didn’t play in Game 1 or Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

That is a lineup change in addition to Vincent Desharnais replacing Cody Ceci at defenseman.

The Oilers really need to win this game tonight. Why? Well consider this -- teams that take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the Cup 91 percent of the time (49-5).

The last team to lose the first two games and win the Cup was the 2011 Boston Bruins against the Vancouver Canucks. The others are the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, 1966 Canadiens and 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. So cleary, getting a split today would be huge.

On a personal note, I was somewhat proud of myself for knowing three of the four acts playing the pregame shows this week -- DJ Khaled, Our Lady Peace and Shania Twain. I didn’t know who The Kid LaROI was.

But then the video board at Amerant Bank Arena starting showing the names of upcoming shows and I’m totally lost. Honestly, if anyone made music after the year 1994, I may have never heard of them.

Here is the list of those I didn’t know of:

Grupo Frontera, Jhene Aiko, Los Temerarios, Melanie Martinez, Carin Leon, Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin. I actually thought the Casting Crowns one said Counting Crows.

Here are the acts I did know:

Childish Gambino (he’s in the "Star Wars" movies), Missy Elliott, Monster Jam (I’ve been to many of them), Zach Bryan, Justin Timberlake (was on a “Simpsons” episode) and Aerosmith.

This is no knock on the acts, just another example of how out of touch I am.

7:15 p.m. ET

We are about an hour from puck drop here in rainy Florida. It rained rats and dogs, I mean cats and dogs, today and it was still raining when we arrived at the arena around 6 p.m. ET.

Still that didn’t stop the fans from enjoying the pregame show from DJ Khaled in the parking lot, and it won’t stop them from being geared up for this game tonight.

If the Panthers can win this game, they will be two wins from the Stanley Cup, which would be the closest they have ever come in their history. They were swept in the 1996 Cup Final by the Colorado Avalanche and lost in five games last season to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Of course, the Oilers will have something to say about it. During their media availabilty on Sunday, all the Oilers talked about how well they played in Game 1 and how, if they can solve Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, they can win.

Despite being happy with their game, the Oilers are making at least one lineup change with Vincent Desharnais replacing Cody Ceci as Darnell Nurse’s defense partner. Desharnais has not played since Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. This is the first time Ceci has been a healthy scratch since becoming a member of the Oilers at the start of the 2021-22 season. That’s 237 regular-season games and 47 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

It also appears that forward Sam Carrick could come into the lineup, but we don’t know yet who will come out. We will know more about that during warmups.

Before the players hit the ice, here is some pregame reading for you all.

Staff writer Derek Van Diest has the story on the lineup changes.

Staff writer Tracey Myers has the 3 keys for Game 2.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid talked today about how he will be less nervous heading into Game 2.

And Tom Gulitti wrote about the Panthers trying to improve their penalty kill, even though it didn’t allow a goal in Game 1.

Finally, four of the top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft were here today. Nick Cotsonika wrote about their visit.