Three unsung heroes from Oilers’ Game 1 win over Panthers

Additionally, the ice tilted in the Oilers’ favour when Walman was on the ice at 5v5, with shots at 16-7 and high-danger chances at 7-5, according to Natural Stat Trick , and he nearly scored the go-ahead goal late in the third. Also, despite the Panthers showing a masterclass in pest-like gamesmanship throughout the playoffs, Walman gave them a taste of their own medicine, laughing at Tomas Nosek for taking a delay of game penalty in overtime — a costly mistake the Oilers made him pay for when Draisaitl buried his third overtime winner this postseason.

Overall, it was a big night for the Oilers’ D-man, who did the not-so-glamorous work of blocking some big shots and has been quite the revelation on the back end since the team acquired him.

Vasily Podkolzin

Earlier in the season, I was singing Vasily Podkolzin’s praises for how solid of a player he was becoming and he continued to show that throughout the campaign. He’s often knocked for his lack of finish, but his effort and the way he takes care of the puck more than make up for it. As Jason Gregor put it earlier in the playoffs, he made a great comparison, one I agree with, when he said, “To me, he’s a young Janmark — doesn’t bring you a lot of offence but rarely makes bad decisions with the puck.”

True to his theme of making the right play with the puck, Podkolzin played a big role in the Oilers’ comeback win over the Panthers in Game 1. Trailing 3-1, he skated the puck up ice and dropped it to Viktor Arvidsson upon entering the zone. Podkolzin kept barreling toward the net, setting a perfect screen in front of Bobrovsky that took away the goalie’s eyes, helping Arvidsson’s slap shot sneak through glove side — the kind of unsung play that rarely gets noticed, but made a huge difference.

In addition to the assist he earned in Game 1, Podkolzin was second on the team with five hits, including a heavy one on Aaron Ekblad in OT, and was one of only four Oilers credited with a takeaway. His line also outshot Florida 6-4 at 5v5 and overall, it was a big night of doing all the right things in limited time — 13:43 of very effective minutes.

Additionally, a major positive in Podkolzin’s game is that he’s relentless on the forecheck — like a dog on a bone who forces turnovers. When he regains the puck, he usually keeps his head up, looking to create plays. That said, sometimes he passes a bit too much, and there are moments when you want the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, who is rock solid, to be a little greedier with the puck and he showed that late in Game 1. In the third period, he put his shoulder down and drove the puck towards the net, nearly jamming the puck past his fellow countryman Sergei Bobrovsky, creating a good scoring chance. With the havoc it caused, perhaps we’ll see more of that from him in the series.

Kasperi Kapanen

When Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen arrived in Edmonton, he showed early glimpses of his skill set that made me think, “This guy just might turn into a player.”

In his first few games playing with the Oilers, he showed he had the skill set to play alongside McDavid and Draisaitl — perhaps lacking the finish, but able to think the game on their level well enough to get them the puck in good spots. Over the course of the season, we also saw other aspects of his game develop, including penalty killing, a heavy forecheck, and physical play. The only glaring issue was consistency.

However, since being put into the lineup in Game 4 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Finnish forward has shown some finish by scoring three goals, including the overtime winner in Game 5 against Vegas, which sent the Oilers to the next round.

Consistency was once a question mark, but since joining the playoffs late, he’s been a wrecking ball in the hits department — consistently throwing big checks and as a result, he ranks fourth on the Oilers with 37 hits since being inserted into the postseason lineup on May 12th.

That said, Kapanen played one of his best games while donning the orange and blue in Game 1 against the Panthers.

He earned an assist early in the game by pouncing on a rebound that popped over to Draisaitl, who buried it. Then, he showed the same ability he displayed earlier in the season to play fetch with his captain, getting the puck to McDavid in the third period. McDavid then feathered a backhand pass over to Mattias Ekholm, who tied the game, with Kapanen picking up another assist.

While he started Game 1 on Draisaitl’s line, once the dynamic duo was put together later in the game, Kapanen was moved to a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane. In just over eight minutes at 5v5, that trio outshot the opposition 6-0 — which included a great chance to take the lead late in the third, when Kapanen dropped a slick behind-the-back pass to his centerman, who was denied.

With the game going to overtime, Kapanen played 20:28 minutes, and the 28-year-old nearly had a chance to end it in the extra frame. Almost halfway through the period, he received the puck in the neutral zone, turned on the jets, split the Panthers’ defence, and came oh-so-close to beating Bobrovsky — ringing it off the post. While he didn’t score on the highlight-reel play, it helped build momentum, and the Oilers eventually sealed the win on the power play with the Draisaitl dagger.

Earlier in the season, all signs pointed to him having the tools to be a difference-maker and he definitely was in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. He didn’t grab the headlines, but he was an under-the-radar force, earning praise from Draisaitl postgame: “We took a chance on him, and it’s paid off big time for us.”

The Oilers’ come-from-behind win in Game 1 was massive, giving them a 1-0 series lead. But the job’s far from done. If the Oilers’ stars keep producing and the depth keeps chipping in, their odds of lifting the Cup get that much better.