Stanley Cup Final Game 1 live blog: Oilers vs. Panthers

Sights, sounds, highlights from Amerant Bank Arena in Florida

© Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images

June 09, 2024

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Welcome to Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final from Amerant Bank Arena. The Florida Panthers are in the Cup Final for the second straight year, and the Edmonton Oilers are in it for the first time since 2006. Florida has never won the Stanley Cup; Edmonton has won it five times, most recently in 1990.

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price was in the arena to provide all the sights and sounds from Florida's 3-0 win in Game 1 with our Stanley Cup Final live blog.

10:55 p.m. ET

Well, that’s it. Game 1 is in the books, and the Florida Panthers win 3-0 despite being outshot 34-18. Who knows what would have happened if not for Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was brilliant.

The Panthers certainly didn’t look as dominant defensively as they did against the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in the first three rounds, but they still won, and that’s all that matters.

The final goal came from Eetu Luostarinen into an empty net with five seconds left.

Despite taking the loss, the Oilers have to be encouraged by the amount of shots they generated.

But they will have to find a way to solve Bobrovsky, or “Bob-By, Bob-By” as the fans call him here.

Though this blog is over for the night, we will have full team coverage on NHL.com postgame with our small army of talented writers.

Thanks for following along tonight, and I will be back Monday for Game 2.

10:38 p.m. ET

The Oilers are still hanging around, thanks to their penalty kill, which just shut down the Panthers for a second time.

The Panthers got the power play when Corey Perry was whistled for interference at 6:47 of the third.

Florida has not looked particularly sharp tonight and is getting more than doubled up in shots on goal -- 29-13 -- but the only number that matters is the score, and it’s 2-0 with under 8 minutes left.

Sergei Bobrovsky has not only been the story here, he is clearly the reason Florida is ahead.

My apologies to the fan I singled out for hitting the drum earlier. It was actually Panthers mascot Stanley C Panther.

You will likely see rats hit the ice if the Panthers hold on here. If you want to know why, read the story on NHL.com from George Richards.

10:22 p.m. ET

I swear this is not a repeat -- Sergei Bobrovsky just made another big save. This time on Connor McDavid, who took a feed from Leon Draisaitl.

It was Edmonton’s 27th shot of the game, and like the previous 26, it didn’t go in.

Mike Zeisberger, who has covered a lot of the Oilers this postseason, says this is the most lopsided game they have played, yet they still trail.

By the way, if you get a chance to watch postgame shows tonight, check out NHL Network, and hopefully you will see what Kevin Weekes is wearing. It’s an awesome light lime green suit with matching Air Jordans.

10:04 p.m. ET

The second period is over, and the Panthers are ahead 2-0. It’s been the Sergei Bobrovsky show. The Panthers goalie has made 26 saves, some of the spectacular variety. He even played the last 12 seconds of the second period without his goalie stick, but it didn’t matter.

The Panthers have just 12 shots on goal, but two of them were Grade-A chances, and they made them count.

If you’re Edmonton, I guess you’re happy with how you have attacked and even defended, but the two goals came on really rough plays by the Oilers defense, and that’s been the difference.

Twenty minutes to go, it’s 2-0 Panthers in Game 1.

9:57 p.m. ET

The Panthers have finally hit double digits in shots on goal, getting their 10th with 5:15 left in the second period.

It’s truly stunning seeing them outshot this much -- it’s 25-11 with 2:30 left in the second period -- but not stunning to see them ahead.

Now a chant of “U-S-A, U-S-A” has broken out from the Panthers fans. Of course, both Florida goals have come from Ontario boys, and a Russian goalie is leading the way for them, but who cares.

I have to say I thought the Florida DJ was having a good night, but he just played “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel, which, let’s just say, is not one of my favorites.

Well, we all make mistakes. Just kidding. He’s doing a great job keeping this crowd fired up for what has become the Sergei Bobrovsky show.

9:50 p.m. ET

The Oilers get another power play with Sam Bennett going off for interference with 9:19 left in the second period, and guess what, they didn’t score again, thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky, who is becoming the difference in this game.

He has made 24 saves already, some on Grade-A chances, including one from Warren Foegele with 6:53 left. Edmonton has to be getting frustrated, especially since it has been on the power play three times and has come up empty.

And Florida has to wonder how Edmonton is getting so many chances. The Panthers have been a tight defensive team this entire postseason, but the Oilers are finding time and space; they just can’t score, which as you all know, is a problem.

9:42 p.m. ET

The Oilers appeared to have scored, but the ref waved it off, and now we have our first skirmish of the night.

What happened was Mattias Janmark came in alone on Sergei Bobrovsky, who made the save with his pad, but the puck was still loose. Connor Brown then came in and pushed the puck into the net, but the ref waved it off.

I covered the Panthers in the first round and NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin covered them in the second and third rounds, and we still can’t get used to Vladimir Tarasenko wearing No. 10.

Every time Oliver Ekman-Larsson does something for Florida (he wears No. 91), I think it’s Tarasenko. And then when Tarasenko does something, I have to look at the roster sheet to see who No. 10 is.

9:34 p.m. ET

Though the numbers don’t look great for Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, allowing two goals on nine shots, he’s had no chance on either goal, with the defense pair of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci struggling in front of him each time.

The Oilers now have 18 shots on goal with 12:57 left in the second period, but have yet to crack Sergei Bobrovsky.

On one hand, it’s good that Edmonton is generating chances, but bad that it has somewhat outplayed Florida but still is losing 2-0.

If Edmonton is going to get back in this game, it needs the next goal. Falling behind 3-0 against a shutdown team like Florida is not a recipe for success.

There’s a guy about 10 rows in front of us with a drum, which is getting the fans going, but is not really appreciated by the folks in the press box. But they just played “Animal” by Pearl Jam in the arena, and the media members are happy again.

9:25 p.m. ET

Tell me if you’ve heard this before -- Sergei Bobrovsky is pretty good. The Oilers are now 0-for-2 on the power play, with Bobrovsky forcing Zach Hyman to shoot high over the net on a chance early in the second period and keeping them off the board.

And right after the power play expired, the Panthers came down and scored to make it 2-0. This time it was NHL.com blogger Evan Rodrigues, who took advantage of an awful Oilers turnover in their own zone and beat Stuart Skinner.

EDM@FLA SCF, Gm1: Rodrigues buries centering feed from Bennett

The Panthers have two goals on five shots. The Oilers have no goals on 14 shots.

I mentioned in the first entry that Kid LAROI played a pregame concert tonight and that DJ Kahled will do the honors before Game 2.

What I failed to mention is that Shania Twain will play before Game 4 in Edmonton. That’s pretty cool. And Our Lady Peace will play before Game 3.

Speaking of music, I’m wondering why the Panthers don’t play the song “Rats” by Ghost after each win, or a song from Ratt. Would be perfect.

9:20 p.m. ET

We are just about to start the second period, and the Oilers will be on the power play for the first 1:52 of it.

The Oilers have to be happy with how they played in the first period, outshooting Florida 14-4 and carrying a lot of the play, but they trail 1-0 mostly because of the play of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

He has been brilliant and may need to stay that way. Connor McDavid certainly doesn’t look intimidated by the moment, getting two shots on goal.

We’ll see if Edmonton can get one past Bobrovsky here early in the second.

From a personal standpoint, the Panthers PR staff are testing my latest attempt to lose some weight. They have put out a huge plate of cookies here in the press box, and they are calling my name. But so far, so good.

9 p.m. ET

The first period of Game 1 is in the books, and Florida, despite being outshot 13-4, leads 1-0.

The Oilers will start the second period on the power play with Carter Verhaeghe taking a high-sticking penalty with 8.8 seconds left in the first.

A big reason for Edmonton being kept off the board is Sergei Bobrovsky, who has made the save on three Grade-A chances. Perhaps the best one came on the Oilers power play with four minutes left in the period.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins came in on a breakaway on a gorgeous pass from Leon Draisaitl, but Bobrovsky made another big save with his left pad. That’s the same side Adam Henrique tried to go on an earlier breakaway.

EDM@FLA SCF, Gm1: Bobrovsky stretches across to stone Nugent-Hopkins

The Oilers, by the way, have more shots already tonight than they did in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars -- they had 10 that night.

We had our first Volbeat song of the Final, with “A Warrior’s Call” playing during the timeout after the save on Nugent-Hopkins.

8:52 p.m. ET

It’s been the Sergei Bobrovsky show so far here, and now he’s going to have to do more with Edmonton going to the power play.

Thirty seconds before the penalty was called, Bobrovsky absolutely stoned Adam Henrique on a breakaway. As much as
the Panthers seem in control, they are being outshot 9-3, with the Oilers throwing pucks to the net whenever they can.

With 5:07 left in the first, Gustav Forsling is in the box for tripping Connor McDavid. Another big moment here early.

8:44 p.m. ET

The Oilers kill the penalty and then have their best shift of the game, getting a few shots through to Sergei Bobrovsky.

They have actually outshot Florida 5-3 to this point but are trailing 1-0.

There is a certain sound this arena makes each time Connor McDavid gets the puck in open ice, sort of like a nervous hush. He’s that dynamic and dangerous.

8:38 p.m. ET

We have our first penalty of the game with Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm going off for tripping.

The Oilers, who already trail 1-0, now have to kill a penalty to keep this game from getting away from them early. We have 12:27 left in the first period.

A few minutes before the penalty, Sergei Bobrovsky got his first real test in the game from none other than Connor McDavid, and he was up for the challenge, stuffing his scoring attempt.

Not surprisingly, the Panthers are hitting everything that moves, trying to set a physical tone early.

8:32 p.m. ET

The Panthers strike first, with Carter Verhaeghe burying a gorgeous saucer pass from Aleksander Barkov at 3:59. It was a simple play with Barkov entering the zone, sending a pass to Sam Reinhart, who gave it back to Barkov, and he flipped the puck across the crease to Verhaeghe, who was wide open.

It was Florida’s first shot on goal and is early trouble for Edmonton, which seemed to just back up and let Florida and Barkov come right in.

EDM@FLA SCF, Gm1: Verhaeghe wires in the game-opener off Barkov's feed

8:25 p.m. ET

We have a special guest in the house -- the Stanley Cup.

Right before the anthems were sung, the Cup was put on a table near center ice. Talk about teasing the players and reminding them what they are playing for.

The Panthers have done a great job of limiting shots on goal and scoring chances during this postseason, especially early in games, so it will be interesting to see what Connor McDavid and Edmonton can accomplish.

As for the Oilers, they need to keep the Panthers in check also, because if Florida gets a lead, it gets even tougher to claw back.

It’s a battle of superstars in McDavid and Matthew Tkachuk, a battle of two different styles of play, and a battle of the United States and Canada.

We have our second celebrity sighting (the Cup was the first) with Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel banging the drum pregame.

Here we go.

8 p.m. ET

Warmups are over, the teams are back in the rooms getting their final instructions, and after five days without hockey, we are just about ready to go.

When we made our NHL.com predictions earlier this week, I picked Florida to win this series in five games. I think I’m a bit biased since I was here in person for Florida’s first-round series win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and I watched what they did to the New York Rangers, especially New York’s power play and top scorers like Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.

Now, as good as those two are, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are more dangerous, so it will be crucial for Florida to keep those two in check. It will also be key for Florida to play physical, but also stay out of the penalty box and keep Edmonton’s lethal power-play unit off the ice.

We’re about 20 minutes away from puck drop. Buckle up.

7:45 p.m. ET

The Panthers and Oilers are on the ice for warmups, and this place is jumping. There are still plenty of people out in the parking lot tuning up for the game, but those who are here are very loud. It’s pretty much a sea of red. It will be interesting to see how many fans came down from Edmonton for these games.

One of the players out there for Edmonton is Corey Perry, who is in the Cup Final with a fifth team. He’s the first player in NHL history to do that. The other teams were the Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. He’s won the Cup once, with the Ducks, in 2006-07.

7:40 p.m. ET

There are so many interesting storylines in this series, and one is the coaches. On one side, you have Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who has coached 1,848 regular-season games, second most in NHL history, but has yet to win the Stanley Cup. On the other side, you have Kris Knoblauch of the Oilers, who has coached 69.

Tonight is unquestionably the biggest game Knoblauch has coached in his career, but he certainly didn’t look nervous ahead of time. In fact, he was patiently waiting online for his dinner in the media work room, saying hello to some local writers.

In case you’re wondering, the meal was chicken parm, ziti, Ceasar salad, Brussels sprouts and Italian wedding soup.

7 p.m. ET

We are about an hour or so away from puck drop, and this place is getting ready to rock. I was here for the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and this place was loud then. I can’t imagine how loud it’s going to be here tonight. Panthers fever has hit South Florida. Everywhere you go down here, you see signs about the Panthers. Even the Hard Rock hotel, the one shaped like a guitar, was decked out for the Panthers. They are the lede story on the local newscasts and Panthers gear is everywhere. I think fans around here were just happy to be in the Final last season, but this year they want to win the Cup.

There was a pregame concert by The Kid LAROI, and despite temperatures in the 90s and high humidity, the fans are loving it.

There was some pregame news with the NHL announcing the dates and times for the 4-Nations Face-Off next February. No doubt, Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be on Team Canada, and who knows, he could be a Stanley Cup champion by then. We will find that out in the next few weeks.

While you get ready for the game, here is some pregame reading from the NHL.com staff.

Staff writer Tracey Myers takes a look at 3 keys for Game 1.

Staff writer Amalie Benjamin has a story about the Panthers back in the Cup Final one year later.

Columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika wrote about McDavid being on the biggest stage at the Cup Final.

Staff writer Tom Gulitti takes a look at the matchup between the two captains – McDavid and Aleksander Barkov of the Panthers.

I’ll be back during warmups.