Panthers Fight Back in Double OT Thriller to Even Cup Final

The Florida Panthers showed championship grit on Friday night, clawing their way to a 5-4 double overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. With the victory, the Panthers evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece and reclaimed home-ice advantage as the showdown shifts to Sunrise for Game 3.
Brad Marchand played hero, finishing off a breakaway 8:04 into the second overtime with a backhand that slipped past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. It was Marchand’s second goal of the game and his 10th career tally in a Stanley Cup Final—more than any other active NHL player.
“If I’m going to be honest, I blacked out,” Marchand said after the game. “But it was obviously a good bounce, and we’ll take it.”
Marchand’s moment capped off a wild night that featured momentum swings, controversial penalties, and a dramatic game-tying goal by Edmonton in the final seconds of regulation. After Sam Bennett, Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, and Marchand helped Florida erase a 3-2 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, the Oilers pulled Skinner for an extra attacker in the final minute. Corey Perry made them pay, crashing the net and punching home the tying goal with just 17.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
From there, it was Bobrovsky time. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was magnificent once again, stopping 42 of 46 shots—including several point-blank chances in overtime. His calm under pressure gave Florida the edge it needed to survive Edmonton’s late push and prevail in the second sudden-death finish of the series.
The first period was an offensive track meet. Sam Bennett opened the scoring on a power play, but Edmonton quickly answered with goals from Evander Kane, Evan Bouchard, and Leon Draisaitl—set up by a dazzling Connor McDavid solo effort. Florida responded with a tic-tac-toe passing play that left Jones wide open for a slam-dunk goal, setting the stage for a second-period surge.
That’s when the Panthers flipped the script. Dominating five-on-five play, they pinned the Oilers in their zone and outshot them 10-1 over a 14-minute stretch. Kulikov and Marchand struck in quick succession to give Florida a 4-3 edge entering the third.
Although the Panthers nearly held on, Perry’s buzzer-beater forced a second straight overtime in this heavyweight rematch of last year’s Cup Final. And just like then, Marchand had the final say.
Game 3 is set for Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, where the Panthers will look to ride the momentum of their dramatic road win in front of a raucous home crowd. If the first two games are any indication, fans should buckle up—this series is just heating up.

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