– Even though they scored the first goal, I think we will come out better today and “Bob” was incredibly good again today. I think our box play was extremely good, which is important in this type of match, says Gustav Forsling to Viaplay after the match.
Goalkeeper Sergej Bobrovsky only had to make 18 saves but was important at the back. He let in Mattias Ekholm’s 0-1, a free position, midway into the first period but then nailed it again.
In two games, the Russian has only conceded one goal.
Florida’s captain left with a suspected concussion
In the third period, Leon Draisaitl went in hard with an elbow right to the head of Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, who left with a suspected concussion and never returned.
– This is not the Oprah Winfrey Show. What my feelings are doesn’t matter, says Florida coach Paul Maurice when pressed for comments about the incident.
Now the series turns from Sunrise in Florida to Edmonton for two games in the best-of-seven series.
The tradition of filling the ice with plastic rats dates back to the October 1995 home opener against Calgary. Scott Mellanby then discovered a rat in the dressing room which he beat to death with the club and then scored two goals, a “rat trick”. Since then, the Florida Panthers have been obsessed with rats.