Brown returns for Oilers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON -- Connor Brown returned for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

The forward missed the last two games of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars because of an undisclosed injury sustained from a hit by Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic in the second period of Game 3 on May 25. Edmonton won the best-of-7 series in five games.

“I feel good,” Brown said after the morning skate Wednesday. “I took a little maintenance day yesterday, but I’m ready to go. I feel excited.”

Brown, who has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games and is an integral member of Edmonton’s penalty kill, returned for the start of this rematch after the Oilers lost to the Panthers in the Final last season, ending with a 2-1 defeat in Game 7.

“Growing up, you want to play in the Stanley Cup Final,” Brown said. “I think it’s been echoed a lot around here; last year it kind of felt a bit euphoric being here. It was something you dream about just getting here, (but) this year it’ll be different.

“We understood the blueprint, we feel we have a rightful place here, so it’s a different feeling. It’s a good feeling, so I think we’re excited to get to our game plan right away.”

Brown replaces forward Jeff Skinner to play on a line with center Adam Henrique and left wing Trent Frederic.

“Unfortunately, he had to miss a couple of games, but he seems like he’s good now,” Frederic said. “It’s unfortunate. It was kind of weird play; I don’t know if he touched the puck, so it’s tough when you’re not expecting to get hit.”

Edmonton enters the Final with a 66 percent efficiency rate on the penalty kill, giving up 16 goals in 47 short-handed situations. It’s well below the 94.3 percent in the postseason last year, when the PK went 66-for-70.

“I think our overall penalty kill numbers haven’t really been good, but I think a lot of that is really poor games to start series,” Brown said. “So, it’s about owning that, looking it in the eye and realizing we need to get to a jump here, come out with a good penalty kill right from the start.”

With forward Zach Hyman unavailable for this series because of a dislocated wrist sustained in a collision with Dallas forward Mason Marchment in Game 4 of the conference final, Brown is a candidate to receive more ice time to help fill the void.

“Connor Brown is a really good two-way player whether we put him out there as part of a shutdown line,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “His penalty kill skills are second-to-none. He’s usually paired with (Mattias) Janmark, and the two of them we rely on quite a bit. But you see during the playoffs he’s come up with some really big goals, especially early in our playoff run against L.A. (in the first round).

“He’s a guy that can move up and down the lineup, especially right now we’re short on right wingers with Hyman not being available.”

Entering Game 4 of the conference final, Hyman was leading the NHL this postseason with 109 hits. He had two more before having to leave with the injury.

Hyman had 11 points (five goals, six assists) and was plus-10 while averaging 17:42 of ice time.

“When you have such a heart-and-soul guy like Zach, the way he plays it speaks for himself,” Brown said. “But what he means to guys in this room, it’s hard to articulate.

“When a guy like that goes down, there’s definitely a rally cry, and I think guys pull up their (boot) straps to play for him.”