Brad Marchand plays 2OT hero as Panthers defeat Oilers in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON, Alberta – In another high-scoring classic, hard-hitting, sometimes nasty affair in the rematch between 2024 Stanley Cup finalists Florida and Edmonton, this time it was the reigning Cup champion Panthers who won in double overtime.

One game after the Panthers coughed up a two-goal lead before losing in overtime, Florida overcame what could have been a crushing goal when ageless Corey Perry forced overtime with a tying goal with 17.8 seconds left in regulation on a 6-on-5.

But 8:04 into the second overtime, fellow-ageless Florida forward Brad Marchand scored his second of the game to give the Panthers a 5-4 victory Friday night at Rogers Place. It was his fifth career playoff overtime winner.

The win evened the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final at one win apiece. The Oilers were handed their first loss since Game 1 of the Western Conference final to snap a five-game winning streak. It was just their fifth loss of the postseason.

Perry’s goal was the latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history. The previous record was by Tod Sloan in Game 5 of the 1951 final (19:28 of P3).

At that point, it tied Marchand for the most goals among active players in the Stanley Cup Final, but Marchand would take it back in double OT with his 10th goal of his career.

NHL playoff goal-scoring leader Sam Bennett scored for a fifth consecutive road game as the Panthers improved to 9-3 away from South Florida. Seth Jones scored a goal and an assist, and Dmitry Kulikov and Brad Marchand scored 3:46 apart in the second period to stun the excited crowd.

Anton Lundell and Nate Schmidt both had two assists each.

Leon Draisaitl extended his point streak to eight games (14 points) with a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid extended his point streak to seven (13 points) with three assists. It was McDavid’s 33rd career multiassist game, the third most in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky’s 72 and Mark Messier’s 40 – both of whom played for the Oilers.

McDavid’s and Draisaitl’s production was part of a five-goal first period, the highest-scoring opening period in the final since Game 5 in 2016 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.

Evan Bouchard had a goal, two assists and five shots on goal, while Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers.

Game 3 is Monday night in Sunrise.