Oilers struggle in 2nd period again in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON -- The long line change in the second period presented problems for the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s a situation Edmonton will look to remedy after losing 5-4 in overtime to Florida in Game 2 at Rogers Place on Friday. The best-of-7 series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena in Florida on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“It was puck execution, I know our passes weren’t sharp and we gave away a lot of pucks,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “If you can’t make that first pass, you’re stuck in the defensive zone and you might get it up to the neutral zone, but especially in the second period, if you just get it out to the neutral zone, you can’t change and then you get stuck and I think that’s what happened in the second period tonight. Just the execution wasn’t what we needed; we have to execute a lot better.”

Edmonton was outshot 31-17 and outscored 3-1 in the second period in the first two games of the Final. The Oilers were outshot 14-9 in the second period Friday, and spent long stretches pinned in their own end unable to clear the puck out of the zone.

With the benches further away from the defensive zone in the second period, the Oilers had trouble making line changes and getting fresh legs on the ice when the Panthers pressured them on the forecheck.

The Oilers took a 3-2 lead into the second period in Game 2 and conceded the tying goal to defenseman Dmitry Kulikov at 8:23 of the second period on a long shot from the point. The Panthers had dictated play to that point, and it felt only a matter of time before they would score.

Florida then took the lead on a short-handed breakaway goal by forward Brad Marchand at 12:09 of the period.

Marchand went on to score the winner at 8:05 of the second overtime on a breakaway after forward Corey Perry tied it 4-4 at 19:42 of the third with goalie Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker.

“I think it was both ways like that, that’s hockey, it’s the long change and you talk about it all the time,” Perry said. “When you have them hemmed in, you roll the lines over and keep them tired. That’s the way we play, and they found a few shifts where they’re going to do that as well, they’re a great team, it’s just one of those things.”

Florida was relentless on the forecheck in the second and took Edmonton out of its comfort zone, making the Oilers battle for pucks along the boards and forcing clears into the neutral zone. The problem for Edmonton stemmed with Florida getting the puck back into its zone immediately, not affording the Oilers the opportunity to skate the extra distance to the bench to make a change.

“I think we just lost our legs a little bit,” Oilers center Leon Draisaitl said. “We weren’t as quick to recover pucks and they’re going to have their push, of course. It’s something to look at.”

In Game 1, Edmonton had similar issues in the second period but was able to escape even with each team scoring a goal, despite the Panthers having a 17-8 shot advantage. The Oilers won the game 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Draisaitl at 19:29 of the extra period.

“You’re never going to play a perfect 60 minutes,” Edmonton defenseman John Klingberg said. “I think if you can control the puck most of the time in the second period, you’re going to have fresh legs and having an easier way to change.

“I think that’s maybe where they won the second period a bit, when you get tired, you’re obviously going to chip it to a spot, and they just keep flushing you [coming back into the zone]. I think it just comes to, when you have a chance, you have to try and get that momentum first and get them on their heels a bit.”

The Oilers fared better against the long change in the first overtime, being able to move the puck out of the zone cleanly.

Part of their success breaking out of the zone, however, had to do with the Panthers easing up on the forecheck to keep from getting caught on odd-man rushes the other way.

Edmonton looked more comfortable in overtime moving the puck out. As a self-professed puck-possession team, the Oilers are not always comfortable chipping the puck off the glass out of the zone and then looking to retrieve it.

Perry, however, said sometimes that is the only option when under pressure, particularly in the second period with their bench on the other side of center.

“You have to read pressure sometimes,” Perry said. “We are a team that likes the puck and move it and makes plays and skate with it in the neutral zone, but at some points you have to chip it out.”