Florida shows no mercy for Edmonton

In the second game, Edmonton fought hard, but Florida succeeded on their home ice. The home crowd was excited as the Panthers won, with former NBA and Miami Heat player Alonzo Mourning hyping up the fans while ESPN introduced their new “goalie cam” during warm-ups.

How the game developed?

In a tense match, Connor McDavid was unable to score in consecutive games, a rare occurrence this season. The game featured physical play, with Warren Foegele receiving a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for a knee-on-knee collision. Despite being injured, the player returned to the bench later.

Edmonton’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for tripping on the ensuing power play, leading to a 4-on-4 situation. Just ten seconds into the 4-on-4, McDavid found Matthias Ekholm, who scored, breaking Edmonton’s longest goal drought of the season and giving them a one-goal lead.

The Panthers equalized in the second period with a goal from Finnish player Niko Mikkola, keeping the game tied in the last 20 minutes. In a thrilling final period, Evan Rodriguez emerged as the hero for Florida, first scoring in the fourth minute to give his team a 2-1 lead and then securing an unassailable two-goal advantage with nine minutes left. Aaron Ekblad sealed the victory with an empty-net goal. The next match is set for Thursday night.

What is Florida’s likelihood of winning the Stanley Cup trophy?

Florida now leads the series 2-0, and historical stats show that teams leading 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final win the series 93% of the time. However, the Oilers remain hopeful. To turn the series around, Edmonton will need to improve their struggling power play, which is 0 for 7 in the series.

The Oilers return to their home ice for Game 3 to leverage their home advantage and get back into the series. They must overcome a confident Panthers team and find ways to convert on power plays if they hope to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada.