NHL | Commentary: Aleksander Barkov upset Connor McDavid – the truth was revealed from the stands

Sunrise

Fun challenge. Thus Alexander Barkov framed the layout when asked on the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals what it’s like to outshine the best hockey player in the world Connor McDavid.

The night before Sunday in Sunrise, Florida, the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final series between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers provided the first answers. The Panthers took their first shot at the championship with a 3–0 victory.

Barkov vs. McDavid is by far the most watched matchup of the Finals, and it could decide the fate of the Stanley Cup. The opening play, played in an electric atmosphere, went to Barkov.

Panthers The Finnish captain immediately put McDavid in his pocket after shaking hands. The first chain led by Barkov won their 5–5 game against McDavid’s first chain 1–0.

Right from the opening goal of the final series, it was aptly summed up why Barkov is one of the biggest favorites to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs.

The Oilers’ first chain went out to get prey from deep in the offensive zone, and McDavid hawked unnecessarily deep.

Barkov read the situation in the background and offered a place to pass in the middle. From there, the Finnish center took possession of the puck and controlled it over the middle area for a 3-2 superiority attack, after that the use was put on the wing and finally Barkov released Carter Verhaeghen to score. When the red light came on, McDavid was already helplessly late.

McDavid has a habit of over-attacking in certain situations from time to time, but against a monster of Barkov’s level, it can pay dearly, as it happened now.

Barkov has, with the five he leads, eclipsed the opponent’s first fist in every previous match series so far in a blunt way. In the finals, the challenge is maximum, but certainly not an impossible task.

McDavid (19 games, 5+26) has so far been in an insane attack in the playoffs, but the recent winner of the Selke Trophy, Barkov, is one of the few who can keep the NHL’s number one player at bay in the most important moments of the season.

In the opening final, McDavid could barely get anything going in a 5-5 game as Barkov shadowed him from shift to shift. It didn’t surprise me at all that in the final round Leon Draisaitl came up in the middle of the second next to McDavid. This is what the Oilers coaching always resorts to if the offensive game coughs.

Although the Oilers were able to create a lot of pressure at the end of the Panthers, the dangerous scoring positions were distributed in even fives with McDavid’s chain on the ice 2-3 in the direction of the Panthers.

This dueling couple is worth watching. Whenever McDavid jumps onto the ice in the final series, Barkov follows as sure as possible. The opening final was above all a defensive clinic from Barkov, which is suitable as an instructional video for all junior players.

It will be very interesting to see how McDavid responds to Barkov’s challenge in the second match on the night before Tuesday. McDavid has a habit of coming out of the gates after quieter matches like possessed and taking over the rink completely.

The final series the opening match at the venue was an eye-opening experience also regarding Barkov’s current status in the Sunshine State.

The last time I visited Sunrise at the Panthers’ home game, Barkov was the team’s Vice-Captain and just emerging as a top player in the NHL.

Now, watching the fans of the Panthers’ home arena, it was not unclear who is the self-righted chief of this village. Red Barkov fan shirts were clearly the most visible in the stands. The former Panthers captain was also found here and there Olli Jokinen fan shirts.

When the Panthers players were introduced on the jumbotron before the opening final, Barkov – or Barky, as the locals call him, was the last player to be introduced.

Star Watcher Sergei Bobrovsky was a superior character in the first final match, but the Panthers are most strongly identified with Barkov, who is already playing for the club in his 11th season. No other Panthers player reaches the same level of popularity as Barkov.

This one this season’s Panthers have an exceptionally strong Finnish stamp anyway. Barkov is, of course, the team’s game leader and an individual who will be watched in the Stanley Cup finals as well.

In addition to Barkov, 22 years old Anton Lundell is rapidly growing into an important credit center for the Panthers. In this summer’s final series, Lundell leads the triple chain in a convincingly mature manner. A pair of Lundell radars Eetu Luostarinen, 25, is also a key defensive role forward in the Panthers’ puzzle. Luostarinen was again defending a two-goal lead in the final moments, when the Oilers tried to narrow it down without a goalkeeper.

In defense Niko Mikkola is playing the best season of his career. The 28-year-old general defender Jykevä, who has moved to the Florida sun for this season, reliably plays the second pair of minutes and was as confident as ever in the opening final.

In addition to the four Finnish players, an assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu is quietly building his own coaching path behind the bench of the NHL’s stars. Ruutu, who coached in the club for the third season, was the only coach who was spared from being fired after the 2021-22 season, when the Panthers’ coaching group was ventilated.

However, there is no ambiguity about who drives the bus in Florida. Everything starts from Barkov’s leadership and exemplary two-way play.