Panthers 'sat back' with lead before G1 collapse

For astir 3 afloat years nether manager Paul Maurice, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers were unbeatable successful the playoffs erstwhile holding a pb done either of the archetypal 2 periods.

Until Wednesday night.

After a 4-3 overtime loss to Edmonton successful Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers blamed themselves for playing excessively conservatively successful allowing the Oilers to people 3 consecutive goals arsenic Florida squandered a 3-2 vantage entering the third.

"Just not fto up. Don't beryllium back," said Sam Bennett, who scored twice, including his franchise-record 12th extremity of this postseason. "We've been truly bully each twelvemonth astatine not sitting backmost with the lead, and for immoderate crushed we sat backmost tonight."

It was an uncharacteristic illness for a Florida squad that had won 31 consecutive playoff games nether Maurice erstwhile holding the pb astatine an intermission break. Worse yet, the Panthers really blew a two-goal pb successful a crippled Leon Draisaitl sealed by converting Connor McDavid's centering walk 19:29 into overtime.

The winning extremity came connected a powerfulness play, 72 seconds aft Tomas Nosek was penalized for hold of crippled for lifting the puck implicit the glass.

Maurice was much acrophobic with however the Panthers performed good earlier Nosek went into the punishment box. Florida was outshot 24-8 from the opening of the 3rd play on.

"I deliberation we had immoderate existent bully pressure. They get it back, and past determination were immoderate plays we didn't compete," Maurice said. "I thought we were a small harmless with the puck."

Florida dropped to 8-3 connected the roadworthy this postseason and trails a bid for the archetypal clip since losing the archetypal 2 games of its second-round gathering with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which the Panthers rallied to triumph successful Game 7.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is Friday nighttime successful Edmonton.

As for Nosek's penalty, Maurice called it a pugnacious interruption and made a constituent to punctual the subordinate however invaluable helium was successful helping the Panthers rally against the Maple Leafs. Nosek didn't marque his playoff debut until Game 3 of the Toronto series.

"That enactment came successful and changed everything for us. We're not present without Tomas Nosek," Maurice said. "He's got tons of radical sitting astatine his array and reminding him however bully he's been."

The question for the Panthers is however they appeared to deterioration down arsenic the crippled progressed successful a rematch of past year's final, which Florida won successful 7 games. Just erstwhile it appeared Florida had grabbed the momentum by gathering a 3-1 pb connected Bennett's 2nd extremity 2 minutes into the 2nd period, Edmonton responded with Viktor Arvidsson's extremity 1:17 later.

And the Panthers looked gassed successful the 3rd erstwhile Mattias Ekholm converted McDavid's centering walk to necktie the people astatine the 6:33 mark.

The 46 shots allowed were the astir permitted by Florida successful the playoffs since giving up 65 successful a 3-2 triumph implicit the Carolina Hurricanes that took 4 overtimes successful Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. They came a crippled aft the Panthers allowed 52 shots successful Game 5 of a second-round series-clinching 3-2 overtime triumph implicit the Maple Leafs.

Draisaitl's power-play extremity was conscionable the eighth allowed by Florida successful 62 chances this postseason.

Maurice remained calm successful assessing however evenly matched the teams are successful a bid helium believes has a accidental to spell the distance.

"It has the imaginable to beryllium conscionable a spectacular seven-gamer," Maurice said. "It was honest, it was hard, it was fast, and it was tight. It was an overtime game."