Florida’s Brad Marchand scores double OT winner in Game 2 to level Stanley Cup final against Oilers

Panthers veteran Brad Marchand certainly didn’t look like a man whose hockey career is winding down.

Marchand scored two breakaway goals, including the double overtime winner, to lead Florida to a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in a pivotal Stanley Cup final Game 2.

The series is now tied 1-1 as it shifts to Sunrise, Fla., for Game 3 on Monday.

“These are the opportunities that you dream of as a kid and the moments that you wish you’d hold on to forever,” Marchand told Sportsnet after the game.

“We all have such a short window to enjoy, and you want to hold on to it for as long as you possibly can. But we all have a shelf life, and when you see it start coming to an end, you appreciate the days even more.”

The 37-year-old Marchand, who’s looking to hoist a Stanley Cup 14 years after winning it with the Boston Bruins in 2011, looked ageless on the ice at Rogers Place, fitting in with players a decade his junior.

Showing no signs of fatigue, Marchand saw the play develop in double overtime before anybody else, getting a jump on Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard and darting towards Edmonton’s net. He took a pass from Anton Lundell at centre ice and moved in on Stuart Skinner on a breakaway, beating the Oilers goalie with a backhand that just trickled in.

And he did it with his parents in the crowd.

“It’s incredible to be part of these moments,” Marchand said. “These are memories that you have the rest of your life, not just for yourself, but your whole family. And we’re all enjoying the journey right now.”

It was Marchand’s second breakaway goal of the game. He put the Cats in front 4-3 with a short-handed breakaway goal at 12:09 of the second period — again reading the play before anyone else and again off a feed from Lundell — beating Skinner five-hole.

‘Scorey’ Perry’s late equalizer

For the longest time it looked like that was the goal that would give Florida the split after two games in Edmonton, but another ageless veteran had other plans.

Edmonton’s Corey Perry, who turned 40 last month, scored with 18 seconds left in the third period to send the game to overtime. Jake Walman’s shot from the point hit a body in front, dropped into the slot, and Perry – who’s aptly named “Scorey” Perry by the fans – simply outmuscled Eetu Luostarinen to the puck.

Connor McDavid had an assist on Perry’s goal, one of three on the night for the Oilers captain.

The goal sent Rogers Place into a frenzy, but ultimately Perry simply delayed the Panthers’ victory.

“You go home, yeah you can think about it, but tomorrow you get some rest and get on a plane and be ready for Game 3,” Perry told reporters. “They’re a good team. They’re going to push and push us to the max, and we’re going to push them to the max.

“Yeah it’s frustrating right now, but we’re in the final for a reason.”

One of those reasons is that this year’s Oilers never say die — they have seven come-from-behind victories this post-season — and they nearly did it again.

In fact they looked likely to score in the final minutes of the third period if it weren’t for Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers netminder denied Draisaitl with a minute on the clock, zipping across his crease to get a pad on the shot.

Earlier he frustrated Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who fired a snap shot from his knees, then Connor Brown on a partial break.

Bobrovsky finished the game with 42 saves.

But it was a different story in overtime, as the Florida Panthers definitely looked the likelier to score in the first of the extra frames.

After a turnover created by Carter Verhaeghe behind Edmonton’s net, Marchand was denied by Skinner with the pad before sending his own rebound off the post. Skinner, who finished the game with 37 saves, nearly tapped the puck in with his own skate as it whizzed by.

Sam Reinhart had a chance shortly after, and Seth Jones on the rebound, but Skinner denied them both.

Reinhart had a golden opportunity to win it with 4:30 left in OT on a breakaway with miles of space and all the time in the world, but he shot well wide.

“Every game is tight at this time of year,” said Leon Draisaitl, who had a goal and an assist in Game 2 after scoring the overtime winner in Game 1 of the series. “Two really good teams. So yeah, never going to be easy.

“This time of year, you have to move on. There’s no time thinking about it too long. Obviously it stings, but we have to move on.”

How the teams got to OT

A wild first period saw the Oilers and Panthers scoring a combined five goals in less than 13 minutes to start the game.

Florida did not hold a full team skate Thursday or Friday morning with the goal of keeping players fresh for puck drop.

They definitely looked energized when Sam Bennett put the Panthers in front early, a power-play goal 2:07 into the contest with Evander Kane in the box for high sticking. It was Bennett’s NHL record-setting 12th road goal of the post-season.

That early goal wasn’t without controversy, as it appeared Bennett was purposely kicking Mattias Ekholm’s stick, preventing the Oilers player from picking it up just seconds before the goal. Ekholm still didn’t have his stick when the puck found the back of the net.

Edmonton replied with two quick goals through Kane at 7:39, making up for the early penalty, and Bouchard at 9:19.

Kane’s perfect shot on the rush beat Bobrovsky off the post and in to tie the game at 1-1, then Bouchard fired a puck past Bobrovsky on his second attempt after his first one was blocked by Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Jones was quick to respond for the visitors, firing a cross-ice pass from Eetu Luostarinen past Skinner to make it 2-2.

Draisaitl put the Oilers in front 3-2, on the power play, at 12:37 of the opening frame after Bennett was called for goaltender interference on Skinner. That penalty drew the ire of Oilers fans — and gave them a little scare — when Bennett fell on Skinner’s right leg, with the Edmonton goalie slow to get to his feet.

Bennett argued he was pushed into the goaltender by Ekholm, but Oilers fans would have felt the Panthers player fell to the ice a little too easy.

That was Edmonton’s last goal until Perry’s equalizer in the dying seconds of the third period.

Florida scored twice in the second frame. Dmitry Kulikov levelled the score 3-3 at 8:23 when his shot from the point into heavy traffic in front of Skinner’s net went off Bouchard’s hip, then off the post and in. Marchand then put Florida ahead with his first breakaway goal of the night.