Bobrovsky among top performers for Panthers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Who played well in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in the 3-0 win by the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday. Here are the players who stood out the most.

Honor roll

Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers): He could’ve been listed a few times on this honor roll, to be honest. The Panthers goaltender was spectacular with a capital S, making 32 saves for the third postseason shutout of his career.

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): The speed, the shots, the constant threat, the Oilers captain was once again doing just about everything in a playoff game. He led all players with six shots on goal and played 25:19.

Carter Verhaeghe (Florida Panthers): A big postseason goal by a guy who’s made that his career staple. The forward gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 3:59 of the first period, a statement in an otherwise meh period for Florida.

Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers): He had the primary assist on Verhaeghe’s goal and Eetu Luostarinen’s empty-net goal with five seconds remaining in regulation. The Panthers captain also blocked four shots, had three hits and was 6-for-12 on face-offs.

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers): The forward had four shots on goal, four hits and was 11-for-23 on face-offs.

Stock watch

Panthers penalty kill: ⬆️ OK, technically this is also Bobrovsky because he was the star of Florida’s penalty kill. But full marks to the Panthers for going 3-for-3 against the Oilers' power play, however they managed it.

Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci pairing: ⬇️ The defensemen hadn’t been paired together since the Western Conference Second Round but were reunited for Game 1. It didn’t work out well, as the two were on the ice for the first two Panthers goals.

Oilers scoring chances: ⬆️ Seriously, they were all over the puck, they had opportunities galore, and you were just waiting for them to capitalize on one or two of those juicy chances. It just didn’t happen because, yes, No. 72 for the Panthers.

Stuart Skinner: ⬇️ It’s only one game and the Oilers goaltender was stellar through the Western Conference Final, but he wasn’t tested much in Game 1 against the Panthers, allowing two goals on 17 shots.

Hello, Cup: ⬆️ The Stanley Cup was brought onto the ice prior to Game 1. It was a reminder of when the NHL had the Cup on display in an empty Rogers Arena in Edmonton in the 2020 Final during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just a great way to kick off this Final.

What we learned

Oilers did a lot right

There was obvious disappointment in Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch’s voice because of the loss, but not because of the effort. The Oilers were dominant in so many facets in Game 1. An error here or there proved costly, but they were on the right track.

Panthers lean on Bobrovsky

Florida players said they need to tighten things up in front of their goaltender, and there’s no doubt about that. But on a night when the Panthers weren’t at their best as a team, Bobrovsky was. Now they want to clean things up and take some of the onus off Bobrovsky in Game 2.