Sam Bennett scores twice to put the Panthers ahead of the Oilers 3-2 in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Sam Bennett scored twice and Brad Marchand had a power-play goal to put the defending champion Florida Panthers ahead of the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 through two periods of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.

Bennett and Marchand scored less than two minutes apart in the first period to take the lead after Leon Draisaitl put the Oilers up just 66 seconds in. The Oilers unsuccessfully challenged Bennett’s first for goaltender interference, with the NHL's situation room ruling that Jake Walman tripped him into Stuart Skinner.

The resulting penalty led to Marchand’s goal on the power play.

Bennett’s second of the night gave him 12 this playoffs to break Florida’s franchise record for the most goals in a single postseason. He passed the mark set by teammates Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe in 2023 when the Panthers made it to the final before losing to Vegas.

They are in the final for a third consecutive season and are four wins away from becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back champion since cross-state rival Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21.

“It’s why we’re here: We’re playing hockey in June for the third straight year and a chance to be a part of history,” standout winger Tkachuk said. “We’ve had two kicks at it so far, and they’ve been very different summers, so we’re hoping for the good one.”

Starting at home last year, the Panthers went up two games to none and won the first game in Edmonton to take a 3-0 series lead. They lost the next three before winning Game 7 to capture the first title in franchise history.

The Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Tkachuk joined in a trade from Calgary in 2022 and coach Paul Maurice took over that same offseason.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl