The Florida Panthers have taken Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite an offensive onslaught from the Edmonton Oilers — who controlled play for most of the game — Vezina Trophy finalist Sergei Bobrovsky and the Panthers were able to shut the door to take a 3-0 victory on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.
Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring on the Panthers’ first shot of the night off the rush, sending a perfectly placed cross-ice pass from captain Aleksander Barkov past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. Verhaeghe became the first player to score on a team’s opening shot in the Cup Final since 2007.
Evan Rodrigues doubled the lead early in the second after teammate Sam Bennett got the puck deep into the Oilers zone, then found Rodruiges in the slot.
Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen added an empty-netter with 4.4 seconds left
Neither team was able to pot a power-play goal, and the Oilers extended their penalty-killing streak. Edmonton has not allowed a goal on the man-advantage since the second round.
Game 2 will take place in Sunrise on Monday.
