For the second time in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, the Florida Panthers find themselves on the losing side of Game 1 after they were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers by a 4-3 final score in overtime on Wednesday night. This series marks the second-straight year in which Edmonton and Florida are battling for Stanley Cup.
Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winning goal in overtime following a careless delay-of-game penalty by Panthers forward Tomáš Nosek, giving them the 1-0 series lead and erasing what was at one point a 3-1 lead in the favor of Florida.
Panthers Fans Direct Wrath Toward Tomáš Nosek After Penalty
As you can imagine, Panthers fans were extremely unhappy with Nosek’s unforced error that led directly to Edmonton’s overtime game-winning goal.
Several fans on X kept their responses short and direct, led by one fan, who said, “You can’t make a terrible mistake like that. Nobody was even pressing you Nosek!!!”
Another hockey fan said, “Terminate Nosek’s contract, Never let Nosek see the ice again.”
One NHL fan had a short response and wrote, “Send Nosek to China.”
“Thomas Nosek enjoy your last game ever as a Panther,” one Florida fan commented.
One fan wanted Tomas Nosek to be left behind in Edmonton and wrote, “Great play by Nosek, do the team a favor and stay in Edmonton after game 2. Team doesn’t need you here.”
Keeping with that theme, one X user commented, “Nosek shouldn’t touch the ice again after that.”
One fan kept things positive and said, “Obviously we know Bobrovsky is a far superior goalie from skinner, the (Oilers’) defense and him was gassed in OT, we know they (Panthers) can bounce back.”
Another fan said, “Played terrible, and still almost took it to double OT, and blew a 2-goal lead. We will be fine. C’MON CATS.”
Florida Panthers Blow 3-1 Lead in Game 1
The Panthers appeared to have things well in control, having taken a 3-1 lead over the Oilers after Sam Bennett notched his second goal of the night. However, things began to unravel for them after Arvidsson’s goal snuck under the pads of Bobrovsky just moments later, resulting in a hard press from the Oilers for the rest of the game.
Giving up a multi-goal lead is extremely atypical of the Panthers, especially under coach Paul Maurice’s leadership. They’ll need to bounce back in Game 2, as they can ill-afford dropping both games on the road before returning to home ice.
