PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Panthers (Game 2)

The Edmonton Oilers hold a 1-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers entering Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 6:00 p.m. MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Panthers (Game 2)

EDMONTON, AB – What a reintroduction to the Stanley Cup Final that was.

Now it’s time to reload and get ready for the next one.

The Edmonton Oilers look to extend their lead over the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night at Rogers Place after Leon Draisaitl’s overtime heroics in a 4-3 victory in Game 1 on Wednesday gave the Blue & Orange the 1-0 advantage in the series.

The Oilers and Panthers treated us to another classic over 80 emotional minutes of playoff hockey to open their second consecutive meeting in the Final, looking much-improved from last year's matchup and setting the stage for what’s guaranteed to be another thriller of a series between the NHL's best.

Coming off the highs of a thrilling OT win that required a team effort, the Oilers continue to stay even-keeled, knowing from experience that there's still a long way to go to crown a champion and that Florida will be ready to respond in Game 2 on Friday night after trading blows with Edmonton in the series opener.

"It's two teams that played each other at this time last year, so a little easier to pick up where you left off," Evander Kane said. "We wanted to get off to a good start at home. I thought we did that in the first period, even though we were down, and two teams that are obviously going to go toe to toe. You just have to roll with the punches throughout the game."

Draisaitl's first career goal in the Final came just 1:06 into the first period before the Panthers completed the quick two-goal swing to take a 2-1 lead when a failed challenge for goalie interference on Sam Bennett's tying goal at 10:49 led to Brad Marchand roofing a power-play marker less than two minutes later.

When Bennett scored his second of the game early in the middle frame, Florida had built up to a 3-1 advantage and was looking like the defending champions we've come to expect from their ability to grind out goals and wins, outshooting the Oilers 17-8 in the second period.

But this Oilers team has learned how to stick with it, and their depth contributors led by Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm on Wednesday helped get the game to overtime, where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were primed to make a big play.

The Oilers got a big goal from their 'fourth line' on a straight-line play by Arvidsson, taking a drop pass from Vasily Podkolzin and sneaking a slap shot under the glove and over the left pad of Borbrovsky for a big response only 1:17 later to make it 3-2. All three forwards played above 13 minutes in Game 1 and took shifts in overtime, as Edmonton had all of their lines and defence pairings involved in the game.

"I think we play a straight line game and not too fancy," Arvidsson said of his line with Podkolzin and Janmark. "I think we like to work and like to win puck battles and go on the forecheck. So I think that fits into all three of our games, and we can read off each other well. I think Janny is a really smart player and unappreciated in that way, and so is Podz. He's just a hard worker, plays the body hard and just fits so well."

At 6:33 of the third period, Ekholm blasted McDavid's feed off a nice exchange with Kasperi Kapanen past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it 3-3, sending the Oilers to overtime where they were given a power play late in the first sudden-death period on a delay-of-game penalty to Tomas Nosek.

Draisaitl delivered the winner with a one-timer off the saucer feed from Connor McDavid, eluding Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov after Corey Perry made a terrific reverse pass around defenceman Niko Mikkola in the circle to open up the down low two-on-one for the game's two greatest players.

Edmonton was able to grind Florida down with their improved physical game from last year's Final, when they didn't have a full-health Evander Kane or the help of names like Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen, Vasily Podkolzin, Viktor Arvidsson and Jake Walman to help in that department. Kane recorded nine hits on Wednesday as both the Panthers and the Oilers split the hits evenly 51-51 in Game 2.

Overall, the Oilers are a healthier team this year, with Draisaitl being the primary beneficiary, having already scored twice in this Final after recording only three assists in seven games against the Panthers in last year's series.

"Our team is healthier this year than we were last year," Darnell Nurse said. "Also, we're a team built for that physical edge. Our team's not afraid of that. We're playing a really good opponent that brings that physicality each night, and we're gonna have to match that."