CNN
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Another game, another overtime was required to declare the winner.
This time, the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in double overtime to win Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, winning the series 1-1 at Rogers Place on Friday.
Panthers center Brad Merchand scored on the breakaway just eight minutes after the second extra period, beating Oilers goalkeeper Stuart Skinner to help Florida escape in victory.
But it was an unlikely hero who took the time to pass Edmonton from the start.
40-year-old Corey Perry scored to tie things together with 17.8 seconds left in the third term. Previous records were held by Todd Sloan in Game 5 of the 1951 final.
For the first time since 2014 and the sixth in NHL history, the series first introduced overtime in each of the first two games.
Marchand, 37, was asked about his mother after the match. He was in the game. Despite his mother joked that you were the type of hockey mom who “need to wear a muzzle”, he also added that he couldn’t enjoy the career he had without her.
“She’s getting quite excited about the game,” Marchand told reporters. “They have always been very supportive. I don’t think there are players in this league who can say that it’s not the main reason their parents are here. They’re making all the sacrifices.
“It’s special to have them in a building, but hopefully there will be plenty of great memories in the future.”
Friday’s game got off to a fierce start as the Oilers removed the overtime victory in Game 1 and fans still feel bliss.
Panthers forward Sam Bennett began scoring two minutes after the game, scoring the NHL with the 13th goal leading the postseason and the NHL, to quiet down the loud Oilers fans inside and outside the arena.
But Edmonton’s Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard responded with two goals: pushing the Oilers to the lead midway through the opening period.
A minute later, Florida defensive man Seth Jones defeated Skinner and found an open net and tied things together. Oilers star Leon Drysightle scored on a power play, giving Edmonton a 3-2 lead at the end of a frenzied first period.
The second period was all for the Panthers, with Dmitry Klikov tied the game again, with Merchant snatching the lead after a predatory goal.
The final period of regulation remained 4-3 until Perry’s target.
Florida goalkeeper Sergey Bovrovsky was as sharp as ever, stopping 42 of the 46 shots he faced.
The series will move to Sunrise, Florida on Monday for Game 3.