Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen also scored, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists for the Panthers, the Eastern Conference champions. Florida took a series lead for the first time in three Final appearances.
Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 Final hold an all-time series record of 64-20 (.762), including 51-10 (.836) when starting at home. Each of the past three Cup champions won Game 1 of the Final, including the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Panthers last season in five games.
Game 2 will be here Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“It's just one [game],” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “Obviously, you really want to take care of the first one, especially on home ice. Now, just looking forward to Game 2, but I guess it feels good.
“They played well. We played well enough to win, just really grinded it out, played really well defensively.”
Stuart Skinner made 15 saves for the Oilers, the Western Conference champions. Edmonton is in its first Final since 2006, when it lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.
“Even though we let in the first one, I think that our team played another full 60 (minutes),” Skinner said. “We were amazing for the whole game. We really pushed. ‘Bob’ was absolutely massive for them and a big reason why they were able to win.”
Verhaeghe made it 1-0 on Florida’s first shot of the game at 3:59 of the first period. The forward shoveled a backhand pass from Barkov into the net on a 3-on-2.
Verhaeghe has 10 goals in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, one shy of the Panthers record for a postseason, set by Tkachuk last season. Thirteen of Verhaeghe’s 25 playoff goals have given Florida the lead.
“He’s such a unique player where he’s so dangerous when the puck’s on his stick,” Rodrigues said. “You give him an inch and it’s in the back of the net. He’s got elite speed, and in the playoffs, he elevates his game because he gets to the middle of the ice, he wants the puck on his stick, and he has an elite shot.”