Florida Panthers: Lines, Updates, Preview for Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 vs. Edmonton Oilers
The rematch begins
After a long wait, the long awaited rematch in the Stanley Cup Final begins. Are both the Panthers and Oilers better than last year? Their respective playoff runs seem to show that. But now, both teams have to prove it, and proving it won’t be easy.
Paul Maurice is making a change to his lineup for Game 1 out of necessity, with A.J Greer’s lower body injury holding him out tonight and possibly on Friday too. He will be replaced by Jesper Boqvist. Why Boqvist and not Nico Sturm?
“I think I would look at a winger more,” Maurice said. “We don’t have any concerns with our center ice right now. So, I don’t think we need another center.”
Edmonton has a lineup question too, with Connor Brown a game time decision, but he told the media after morning skate that he thinks he’s a go. If he can’t, he’ll likely be replaced by Jeff Skinner.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov had a simple comment to the media today which captures the spirit of both sides before the puck drops on Game 1:
“Finally”.
THE NEWS
Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net for the Panthers tonight.
Tonight’s game will start at 8:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted nationally on TNT and TruTV and can be streamed on Max.
Catch the Florida Panthers pre-game show on Scripps Sports with Jessica Blaylock, Ed Jovanovski, Randy Moller and Katie Engleson 30 minutes before puck drop.
For more information on how to find Scripps Sports, visit nhl.com/panthers/info/how-to-watch.
FLORIDA PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Evan Rodrigues — Aleksander Barkov —Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist — Tomas Nosek — Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt — Dimitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Jaycob Megna, Mackie Samoskevich, Uvis Balinskis, Nico Sturm
Injured: A.J Greer (DTD, lower body injury)
EDMONTON OILERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Corey Perry
Evander Kane — Leon Draisaitl — Kasperi Kapanen
Trent Frederic — Adam Henrique — Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin — Mattias Janmark — Viktor Arvidsson
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Brett Kulak
Jake Walman — John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Jeff Skinner
Injured: Zach Hyman (Out, UBI), Alec Regula (IR), Connor Brown (GTD)
Oilers Lines Courtesy of DailyFaceOff.com
*Opposing team lines subject to change.