Panthers blank Oilers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
Bobrovsky makes 23 saves for shutout as Florida takes early series lead
Edmonton Oilers will look to regroup in Game 2 on Wednesday
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs and the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Claude Giroux scored for the Panthers, who took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in Sunrise, Florida.
"We played the game the right way. We forechecked hard, we played on our toes, we didn't give them much," Bobrovsky said.
The Panthers controlled the play for much of the game, outshooting the Oilers 33-23.
"I thought we were really good. I thought we played a really good road game," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We didn't get the bounces we needed to get early and they made us pay."
Verhaeghe opened the scoring at 6:30 of the first period when he took a pass from Barkov and beat Oilers goalie Mike Smith with a wrist shot.
Barkov made it 2-0 at 16:27 of the second period when he scored on a power play.
Giroux added an empty-net goal with 1:09 remaining.
Smith made 30 saves for the Oilers.
"We didn't play our best game, but we still had a chance to win," Smith said. "We've got to learn from this and be better in Game 2."
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