The 2024 Stanley Cup Final will see the Florida Panthers face off against the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton, over to you.
The Florida Panthers, after a 3-0 Game 1 win on Saturday, defended home ice Monday by winning Game 2 4-1 before the Stanley Cup Final shifts cities -- and countries.
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Edmonton, after going scoreless in Game 1, started the scoring this time around via Mattias Ekholm.
Ekholm initiated a counter attack just past the midway point of the first period, then put his shot through the legs of Panthers star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for the five-hole finish.
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Connor McDavid was credited for the assist, as the Oilers star also registered two shots on goal in the opening period. Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour also had two shots on goal each for Florida, but to no avail.
The momentum flipped toward Florida's way in the second period, with Matthew Tkachuk, in particular, getting more involved in front of Edmonton's net.
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But it wasn't Tkachuk who knotted it up at 1-1. Instead, defenseman Niko Mikkola, after avoiding a potentially catastrophic own goal, came up the ice the other way and tied it at the midway point.
The third period was the Evan Rodrigues show. The 30-year-old centre/winger scored in Game 1, then continued his form late in Game 2.
Just over three minutes into the final period, Rodrigues struck a shot into the top left corner that gave Stuart Skinner little chance to react to.
Then two minutes past the halfway point of the period, Florida showcased some superb build-up play from the back, which led to Anton Lundell sliding the puck over to Rodrigues to cap his brace.
Ekblad then got on the score sheet with just 2:30 left. With Edmonton pushing for the comeback and leaving an empty net, the 28-year-old Ekblad took his chance from mid-ice when he found the puck and drilled it.
Game 3 in Edmonton is set for Thursday, June 12 at 8 p.m. ET. It'll be a must-win game for the Oilers due to the low success rate of teams overcoming a 3-0 series deficit.
Only four of 210 teams have completed the reverse sweep, the last being the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
