Oilers’ depth outdueled the Panthers’ depth in Game 1 victory

While the big guns shined for the Edmonton Oilers in their overtime win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, their depth made a notable contribution.

While Leon Draisaitl’s two goals, including the game-winner, overshadowed the Oilers’ bottom six on Wednesday night, it was noticeable that Edmonton had all hands on deck. With the team trailing 3-1, Viktor Arvidsson, who has been scratched during these playoffs, scored a flukey goal to help spark some life in the home crowd.

Also, Kaspari Kapanen continues to surprise many, registering two assists in the win. From them and the likes of Mattias Janmark played pivotal roles in Game 1.

On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed how the Oilers’ depth was a key difference-maker in the series opener.

Frank Seravalli: I think really the more interesting angle is how we’ve talked about Florida’s depth a lot these playoffs, and the rate that those top three lines have scored. What became really apparent to me in Game 1, as tight as it was, is that the Florida Panthers are a three-line team and the Edmonton Oilers are a four-line team. If you look at the job that that Janmark line did in OT specifically, they were able to create, make things happen. I think a big reason why, in a game with very big momentum swings, Florida controlled a huge chunk.

But the deployment specifically, look at basically four full periods. You got one full overtime, essentially. The Florida Panthers had three defensemen play north of 30 minutes. The Edmonton Oilers had one. Connor McDavid played north of 30, and he’s effortless and efficient. He could play forever. I think that’s an interesting tell about how this series may play out. You have your fourth line for the Edmonton Oilers playing 14 minutes. Jonah Gadjovich for Florida played six. I just think it could be a big disparity as you move on and a compounding effect if you get other overtime games or games that are slugfest like that one. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: If the expectation is this is a long series the fact that, take special teams out of it, 12 minutes was the lowest Oilers time on ice, Mattias Janmark, in that hockey game at 5-on-5 alone. So, I thought the Oilers’ depth was very impressive.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…