These two stocks also benefit from the AI boom, but trade at cheaper prices.
One of the first investors to buy Nvidia(NVDA 1.04%) for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom was Stanley Druckenmiller at his Duquesne Family Office investment fund. At the end of 2023, it was one of his largest positions, a year where the stock more than tripled for investors, putting it on the path to become the largest company in the world by market capitalization.
Then, in 2024, Druckenmiller began to sell down his stake in Nvidia. By the end of last year, he had completely exited his position. What has he been buying instead? Last quarter, Duquesne bought two other trillion-dollar AI stocks: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM -1.68%) and Microsoft(MSFT -0.43%).
Let’s see whether you should follow Druckenmiller and buy these two stocks for your portfolio today.
Image source: Nvidia.
Nvidia’s semiconductor supplier
Some readers may already know this, but Nvidia does not manufacture its advanced computer chips itself. It only designs them. The key manufacturing supplier of Nvidia chips is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC for short. TSMC only makes computer chips for third parties and is known as a semiconductor foundry. These include Nvidia, but also the likes of Apple, Broadcom, and other technology giants.
With the insatiable demand for computer chips from the growing AI market, TSMC has been doing quite well in recent quarters. Last quarter, revenue grew 44.4% year over year to $30 billion. Not only is TSMC one of the largest businesses in the world, but one of the fastest growing.
As one of the only companies that can manufacture advanced semiconductors at scale, TSMC has been able to sell its computer chips to customers like Nvidia with fat profit margins. Last quarter, operating margin was close to 50%, which is unheard of for a manufacturing business.
At today’s stock price, TSMC trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 34. While this is slightly expensive, it is much better than Nvidia’s P/E ratio of 51. When you consider that both stocks will benefit from the growing demand for AI computer chips, it is no surprise that Duquesne sold its stake in Nvidia and owns TSMC today instead.
Microsoft’s opportunity in AI
Microsoft is a large customer of Nvidia as the company accelerates its buildout of cloud computing data center infrastructure to power the AI revolution. It has a relationship with OpenAI, the leading private AI company that is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure. In 2025 alone, Microsoft is planning to spend $80 billion on capital expenditures to help catch up with AI demand.
Its cloud revenue is benefiting massively from the growth in AI. Its Azure cloud computing division grew revenue 34% year over year last quarter to $75 billion, making it the second-largest cloud business in the world apart from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Overall revenue is growing well due to Microsoft’s diversified assets in personal computing, Office 365 subscriptions, and other services such as LinkedIn. Revenue was up 17% year over year last quarter, with operating income up 22% (both in constant currency). Expanding operating margins to 45% makes Microsoft one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
Like TSMC, Microsoft trades at a much cheaper P/E ratio than Nvidia, at 37.5 as of this writing. With steady growth, margin expansion, and a clear line of new demand for Azure for AI solutions, Microsoft looks like a solid buy-and-hold stock for investors over the next decade and beyond.
At the end of the second quarter, TSMC was 4.3% of the Duquesne stock portfolio, according to its 13F filing, increasing its position by 27% more shares in the period. Microsoft was a completely new buy for the fund, but it is already a 2.5% position. Both stocks have done well throughout the second and third quarters, but can still be good long-term buys for investors looking for inspiration from super investors like Druckenmiller.
Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Luc Robitaille knew his hockey playing career was over when it took him longer to get his battered body ready for a game than it did to play it.
“It became harder and harder physically,” said Robitaille, whose next stop was the hall of fame. “I think I knew at that point.”
And once his mind was made up, there was no turning back.
For Anze Kopitar, who is in the peak of good health, the decision was a little different. The Kings’ longtime center announced last month that, at 38, he will retire after this season and spend more time with his family. But, like Robitaille, there will be no turning back.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” he said.
In fact, he’s not going to change anything. Kopitar said he’s approaching this season, his 20th with the Kings, the same way he approached the first 19.
“The last few years, I told myself that I have to enjoy it because you don’t know when the ending is com[ing],” he said. “So I’ve been enjoying it. I’m obviously having a lot of fun, still playing the game. This year won’t be any different.
“The focus is still on this season.”
A season that kicks off Tuesday when the Kings host the Colorado Avalanche. But while Kopitar is starting the season the same way as always, he’s hoping for a different ending since the Kings’ last four years have ended with first-round playoff losses to the Edmonton Oilers.
Another Stanley Cup title would be a nice parting gift, especially since Kopitar, entering a team-record 10th season as captain, would be the first man to hoist the trophy, an honor that went to Dustin Brown when the Kings won in 2012 and 2014.
“I’d like to win every year. I’d like to win this year,” he said.
“My kids weren’t born when we won, so I’d like to win so they can experience that feeling too.”
Kings captain Anze Kopitar skates during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks in March.
(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
However Kopitar’s season finishes, his career will end with him joining Robitaille, now the Kings president, in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is the Kings’ all-time leader in games (1,454), assists (838) and winning goals (78) and ranks in the top three in goals, points, plus-minus and power-play scores.
And just nine players in NHL history have played more games with one team than Kopitar, who has spent his entire career with the Kings.
Unlike Robitaille, he’s hardly hobbling off into retirement. He led the Kings with 46 assists and was second with 67 points last season, playing in 81 of 82 games. He also won his third Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which goes to the player exhibiting the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct in the NHL.
But his two children — daughter Neza, 10, is a talented figure skater and son Jakob, 9, plays hockey — deserve more of his time and attention, he said.
“I still love to be in hockey and I’m still productive,” Kopitar said. “But on the flip side, the kids need their dad to be more present and be a dad, not a hockey player. I can walk away on my own terms and not be forced to retire because of injuries and because the body’s not holding up.”
Anze Kopitar and his wife, Ines, attend a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena in January 2024.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
That wasn’t Robitaille’s experience. A fractured ankle late in career and lower back pain so severe he could hardly get out of bed, led to his retirement in 2006, less than six months before Kopitar’s NHL debut.
“It kind of felt to me that I had squeezed everything out of the lemon. There was nothing left,” Robitaille said. “I was really at peace.”
As for what advice he’d give his captain, Robitaille said he’ll tell Kopitar to make time to stop and smell the roses on his last trip around the league.
“If you listen to 99% of the guys that retire in any sport, the one thing they miss is the [locker] room,” he said. “So when you know you’re near the end, you’ve got to make sure you pay attention to every one of those little moments that you’re going to miss for the next 50 years of your life.
“You’re playing a game. You’re 30 years old or 40 years old — 38 for Kopi — and he’s playing a game. It’s amazing. Most people don’t get to do that in their life, you know?”
Kopitar’s decision comes with the Kings at a crossroads. They tied team records for points (105) and wins (48) last season while going a franchise-best 31-6-4 at home in Jim Hiller’s first full season as coach. That earned the team second place in the Pacific Division, its best finish in a decade.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar, left, speaks to defenseman Drew Doughty during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in December 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The postseason was déjà vu all over again, however, with the Oilers eliminating the Kings.
General manager Rob Blake resigned four days later and was replaced by Ken Holland, who won four Stanley Cups as GM of the Detroit Red Wings. The Kings’ core is also in transition because when Kopitar steps aside, only defenseman Drew Doughty will remain from their Stanley Cup-winning teams.
“Passing the torch, [we]’ve been trying to for the past few years, been trying to mentor some of the kids in this locker room,” Kopitar said. “Maybe that’s what it is.”
Holland had mixed results in his first summer with the Kings, adding forwards Corey Perry (who will miss the first month of the season because of a knee injury) and Joel Armia, defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci and goalkeeper Anton Forsberg, and re-signing winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a club-friendly contract.
Also back are leading scorers Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe, who had 35 goals each, wingers Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who had a career-best 2.02 goals-against average and finished third in Vezina Trophy voting.
But Holland lost veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the New York Rangers and failed to land Mitch Marner, the summer’s most-sought player, who wound up in Las Vegas.
And now he’s the team’s first general manager in two decades who has been forced to ponder a future without Anze Kopitar.
Anze Kopitar takes the ice before a game against the Winnipeg Jets in December 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re really going to enjoy having Kopi in the lineup this year. But next summer it’s going to be a big void,” Holland said on the Canucks Central podcast. “He’s big and strong. And it’s hard to find big, strong, talented centermen.
“He’s very intelligent. And I think the team follows his lead.”
As for Kopitar, he’s not thinking past the next nine months. He has the rest of his life to figure out what comes next.
“I haven’t really given too much thought of what’s going to happen [next], except for being home for my kids,” he said. “I’ll take my time and then see what, see what life throws at me.
“I’m going to miss the game of hockey. What I’m not gonna miss is working out, getting ready for the season, all the hours you’ve got to put in. But the game itself, of course, I’m going to miss it. It’s been here for the better part of 35 years. But listen, the summers are going to be more enjoyable.”
THIS is the vile moment an ex-boyfriend slashes a prison officer’s throat with a Stanley knife after lying in wait outside her home.
Prison officer Rosie Niessen, 28, was ambushed by her ex in broad daylight as he attempted to kill her.
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Doorbell footage shared by Rosie Niessen shows the moment her ex Simon Scrimshaw ambushed her outside her homeCredit: SWNS
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The horrifying video sees Scrimshaw stalk Rosie down before slashing her throatCredit: SWNS
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Rosie was left with injuries across her face and neck after the horrific attackCredit: SWNS
Simon Scrimshaw, then 50, hid in the bushes outside Niessen’s home in March 2023 as she left for work in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire at 6.40am.
Rosie, who has a daughter with Scrimshaw, has now bravely released appalling doorbell camera footage showing the horror of what happened that morning.
Wearing a balaclava, Scrimshaw is shown appearing from his hiding spot before running up behind Rosie.
As she reached the end of her driveway, he grabbed her and pulled back her head before hacking at her neck with a Stanley blade while wrestling her to the ground.
She can be heard screaming “what are you doing?” and “stop, help me” as the attack unfolded.
Rosie bravely fought back against Scrimshaw who inflicted devastating injuries to her throat, face and hands as she tried to defend herself.
Her courageous dad, Roberto, heard Rosie’s screams and raced out, jumping on Scrimshaw in a desperate attempt to protect his daughter.
He was stabbed in the right thigh before Scrimshaw fled which later required 50 stitches in his leg.
A passer-by alerted the emergency services, and Rosie and her dad were rushed to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.
There, Rosie had a CT scan and surgeons glued and stitched her wounds with doctors saying she was “lucky to be alive”.
Plumes of smoke billowing from the top floor of a flat fire in Battersea
A neighbour called the police after witnessing the attack and Scrimshaw was later arrested.
Rosie met Scrimshaw in 2017 and they entered an on-off romantic relationship which ended in 2022 – the pair had a daughter during that time.
According to the Mail, they were due to appear at a family court two days after the attack as Rosie had applied for a court order to keep him away from her.
Rosie told the newspaper she was in “shock” and said she “could hear rustling” before Scrimshaw came at her with the blade.
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Scrimshaw was jailed for 28 years in January 2024 after being convicted of attempted murder and grievous bodily harmCredit: SWNS
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Rosie left her job after struggling with both the physical and mental scars inflicted upon her by Scrimshaw
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The pair met in 2017 and had an on-off romantic relationship which ended in 2022
She said that she protected her neck on “instinct” as she defended herself.
“Imagine if I did die or didn’t defend myself as I did,” she added.
“They said I was in a pool of blood. They didn’t know I was going to make it.”
Rosie had to leave her job since the attack and has struggled with both the physical and mental scars inflicted upon her by Scrimshaw.
She said he had “taken everything from me” and branded Scrimshaw a “monster”.
Scrimshaw was jailed for 28 years in January 2024 after being convicted of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, with a further four on license.
He was also ordered not to contact Rosie and was given a lifetime restraining order.
Now, Rosie is speaking out to raise awareness of domestic violence.
Lorraine Stanley, known for playing Karen Taylor on EastEnders, was met with reaction after sharing a video of the BBC soap star dancing with her daughter Nancy
17:12, 26 Jun 2025Updated 17:12, 26 Jun 2025
Former EastEnders cast member Lorraine Stanley has addressed the suggestion that she’s a grandparent. It comes after she was met with reaction from fans on TikTok after posting a video of herself dancing alongside her daughter.
Lorraine, 48, who played Karen Taylor on the BBC soap, and her fiancé Mark Perez are parents to Nancy, nine, together. She occassionally features in videos shared by the actor on the platform, with the mother and daughter often taking on dance trends at home together.
The latest, uploaded last week, saw Lorraine and Nancy perform a choreographed routine to Maroon 5 and SZA‘s song What Lovers Do. Lorraine wrote in the caption: “It’s been a while!” She included hashtags like #motherdaughter.
It’s attracted more than 40,000 likes and fans reacted to the video in the comments section. The reaction included the suggestion that Nancy was Lorraine’s granddaughter, which led the former soap star to assert that wasn’t the case.
Lorraine Stanley (left) was met with reaction over a video of her dancing with her daughter Nancy in a video on TikTok recently(Image: Tiktok/Lorraine Stanley)
One asked: “Is that your granddaughter?” Alongside an emoji depicting a face with rolling eyes, Lorraine replied to them: “Daughter.” In another reply, beside a laughing emoj, she wrote: “Daughter #motherdaughter is a bit of a clue.”
Someone else wrote in the comments section just days ago: “Nothing better than seeing a grandparent have that kind of fun with their grandchild.” Seemingly amused by it, Lorraine replied by sharing a trio of laughing emojis.
Lorraine – whose five stone weight loss in recent years has continued to attract attention – was also met with praise over her apppearance. It included her receiving compliments from a former colleague from EastEnders.
The actor, pictured in 2017, is best known for her role as Karen Taylor on EastEnders(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes)
Shona McGarty, 33, who played Whitney Dean on the soap opera, wrote in the comments section: “Lou! Love this.” She added: “You look great!” Lorraine shared her appreciation by replying to Shona: “Thank you mate!!!! Lots of love.”
One fan wrote: “You look incredible!! Look how happy your daughter is to be doing the dances with you too. So lovely.” Another said: “You look fantastic you were always my favourite on eastenders you were so funny.”
Another said: “Oh how cute is this! & the smiles from both of you say it all. looking wonderful lady…hope you have an amazing summer.” Someone wrote: “You look great! Glad you’re happy and enjoying dancing with your family.”
The video is the latest update from Lorraine, who has previously posted about her weight loss journey on the platform(Image: Instagram/Lorraine Stanley)
Several fans asked Lorraine about her weight loss. It comes after she revealed in a post on TikTok back in April that she had gastric sleeve surgery. Lorraine suggested at the time that it took place towards the start of 2023.
Alongside photos of her from different stages of the experience, she told her followers: “It’s been over two years since I started my journey. Lots of you are asking how I did it.I hope you enjoy my little weight loss journey video.”
Lorraine gave further details in the comments section at the time. She told one fan: “I was slightly embarrassed to tell the world I’d had surgery.” She also said: “I wish I could say it was [through diet], but I did have to change my diet & still have to work hard to eat the right stuff to maintain it.”
SUNRISE, Fla. — Stanley’s stay in South Florida is getting extended.
The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to get that many in a game in the Final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher.
More rats were part of the victory celebration when the clock hit zeroes. Panthers players mobbed in the corner, while the Oilers watched in dismay.
The Florida Panthers celebrate immediately after winning their second straight Stanley Cup.
“Good evening, South Florida,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting the trophy to captain Aleksander Barkov. “It feels like we just did this.”
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, closing the door on a rematch with the same end result. The only goal came from fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time, long after the outcome was decided.
That was followed by chants of “We want the Cup!” as time ticked down. The Panthers already had it. Now they get to keep it.
“This is as good as the first one,” Reinhart said. “We learned some lessons. We stayed on the gas, foot on the pedal, and obviously the result speaks for itself.”
Not long after the Lightning made three consecutive trips to the Final, Florida has done the same and now has the makings of a dynasty. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022.
“We’ve got to be a dynasty now,” Tkachuk said. “Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice hugs defenseman Uvis Balinskis after the team’s Stanley Cup win over the Oilers.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
The only time they have been on the wrong side of a handshake line was the final in Vegas in 2023, only after several key players were banged up and gutting through significant injuries.
From the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Barkov and Sam Bennett on down the roster, they were much healthier this time around and were boosted by key trade deadline additions Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Bennett led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, and Marchand had six in the final alone.
Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Barkov handed the Cup to first-time champion Nate Schmidt, and all the others winning it for the first time got it soon after.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman presents the Conn Smythe Trophy to Florida forward Sam Bennett after the Panthers’ win in Game 6.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“It’s amazing to be able to be here,” Schmidt said. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
Getting depth contributions from throughout the lineup allowed them to overpower Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who struggled with Florida’s ferocious forecheck and switched goaltenders multiple times in the Final. Stuart Skinner got the nod in Game 6 and was again done in by mistakes in front of him that ended with the puck in the net behind him and had his own blunder on Reinhart’s second goal.
McDavid tried to take over but was again stymied by Barkov, Jones and Bobrovsky. He finished with seven points in his second career trip to the Final, again denied his first title.
The Panthers spent more time leading during this Stanley Cup Final than any previous team in history, 255:49 minutes in all.
“We lost to a really good team,” McDavid said. “Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, but they’re a heck of a team. They’re back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason.”
Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 31 seasons and 32 years dating to Montreal in 1993. Teams in the U.S. Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times, four of them in Florida.
Highlights from the Florida Panthers’ 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
This run through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five and Edmonton in six showed how clinical the Panthers have become under Maurice, who has coached more NHL games than everyone except Scotty Bowman and is now a two-time champion.
So is Marchand, who last hoisted the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. The 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history, just shy of 16 for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 for Mark Recchi from ’91 to ’06.
“It’s incredible,” Marchand said. “It’s a feeling you can’t really describe. Seeing the family and everyone up there and everyone that supported me and helped me get to this point, words can’t put this into reality how great it feels. Such an incredible group.”
Reinhart is the first player to score four goals in a Stanley Cup final since Montreal Canadiens’ Maurice Richard in 1957.
It took Reinhart four minutes and 36 seconds to open the scoring and the Panthers never looked back.
Matthew Tkachuk, who said after the game he had been playing with a torn adductor muscle and a hernia, doubled Florida’s lead by the end of the first quarter before Reinhart scored a further three unanswered.
Edmonton’s Vasily Podkolzin grabbed a consolation for the five-time Stanley Cup winners, but their last triumph in the competition came in 1989-90.
“We’re a dynasty,” Tkachuk said.
“I can’t believe this is what has happened… It just shows how unbelievable the group is, the depth.
“The culture down here is very, very unique. Hopefully, we can do it again.”
SUNRISE, Fla. — Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back after allowing the late tying goal.
Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead with 6:24 left in the third period, before Sam Reinhart scored with 19.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. Three of the first four games of this final have needed extra time to be settled, the first time that has happened since 2013 and fifth time in NHL history.
Draisaitl’s goal 11:18 into OT — the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams — sent the series back to Western Canada all even. Game 5 of what’s turning into a classic back-and-forth series between two hockey heavyweights is Saturday night in Edmonton.
The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the final in NHL history, the last time in 2006.
Edmonton is very much in it now, even after it looked like it would be blown out of the series. The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a back-breaker.
Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured.
Pickard made some acrobatic saves, stopping the first 18 shots he faced and paving the way for a once-in-a-century comeback. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on Edmonton’s first power play, Darnell Nurse beat Sergei Bobrovsky with another shot up high and Vasily Podkolzin made it 3-all with less than five minutes left in the second.
With Draisaitl in the penalty box to start the third, Oilers were on their heels for several minutes and relied on Pickard to keep the score tied. He turned aside every shot he faced until Walman fired the puck past Bobrovsky to silence a vast majority of the crowd and incite a roar out of the Edmonton fans among those in attendance along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Panthers fans had one more chance to cheer when Reinhart tied it late. Then Draisaitl quieted them again.
With Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist also in the building, the Oilers made sure they would not go quietly and fall behind 3-1 in the final like they did last year. They forced Game 7 then but ultimately fell short, with Florida winning the Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Now each of these teams is a couple of victories away from being champions.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got their first goal in the Stanley Cup Final and the defending champion Florida Panthers capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers’ worst performance in weeks to win Game 3 in a 6-1 rout Monday night and take a 2-1 series lead.
Marchand became the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a final and the first to open the scoring the next time out after notching an overtime winner. His 11 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than similarly ageless Corey Perry.
Bennett added his NHL playoff-leading 14th goal, just the second at home, after making a big hit on Edmonton’s Vasily Podkolzin that contributed to the turnover to spring him on a breakaway. Marchand and Bennett have combined to score eight of Florida’s 13 goals in the series.
But it was not just them this time. Verhaeghe buried a perfect shot into the net under the cross bar on the power play, Reinhart made up for missing the net on an earlier attempt, Aaron Ekblad scored to chase Stuart Skinner on the fifth goal on 23 shots and Evan Rodrigues added the exclamation point in the waning minutes.
At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky earned the “Bobby! Bobby!” chants from a fired up South Florida crowd. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender known as “Bob” was on his game for the very few quality chances the discombobulated Oilers mustered, making 32 saves.
Perry — at 40 the oldest player in the series — beat Bobrovsky with some silky hands for a power-play goal, keeping up this final being a showcase of cagey veterans along with Marchand.
Connor McDavid could not get his team on track, and Edmonton took 15 minors — led by Evander Kane’s three plus a misconduct to add up to 85 penalty minutes — including a brawl that ensued with less than 10 minutes left. Trent Frederic and Darnell Nurse, who fought Jonah Gadjovich, got misconducts that knocked them out of a game with an outcome determined long before.
After the final looked as evenly matched as can be with Games 1 and 2 each needing extra time, overtime and then double OT, Game 3 was a lopsided mismatch. The Oilers came unglued to the point Jake Walman resorted to squirting water on Panthers players on their bench from his spot on the visiting side.
The teams have some extra time off before Game 4 on Thursday night, when the Panthers have the chance to take a 3-1 lead and move to the verge of going back to back.
EDMONTON, Canada — Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway in double overtime and the defending champion Florida Panthers punched back against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Final rematch, winning 5-4 on Friday night to even the series.
Marchand’s second goal of the night 8:04 into the second overtime allowed Florida to escape with a split after Corey Perry scored to tie it with 17.8 seconds left in the third period and Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker. Each of the first two games in this final have gone to overtime, for the first time since 2014 and just the sixth time in NHL history.
Much like last year and the playoff run to this point, Sergei Bobrovsky was dialed in when he was needed the most, making some unreal saves while stopping 42 of the 46 shots he faced. His teammates provided the necessary goal support.
Along with Marchand, Sam Bennett scored his postseason-leading 13th goal and NHL record 12th on the road. Seth Jones scored into a wide-open net after some spectacular tic-tac-toe passing, and fellow defenseman Dmitry Kulikov tied it with a shot through traffic that Stuart Skinner almost certainly did not see.
Kulikov’s goal came after Florida controlled play for several minutes in the second, hemming Edmonton in its zone shift after shift and piling up a 34-13 advantage in shot attempts during the period. Marchand’s overtime goal was his 10th career goal in the final to lead all active players.
Game 3 is Monday night as the teams traverse the continent and play shifts to Sunrise.
The Panthers wrested home-ice advantage away from the Oilers by splitting the first two, rebounding from a Game 1 overtime loss and asserting they won’t go quietly against Draisaitl and Connor McDavid looking like they’ll do everything in their power to hoist the Cup for the first time.
Of course, those stars had their moments. They assisted on Evan Bouchard’s goal when coach Kris Knoblauch put them on the ice together, and McDavid stickhandled through multiple defenders in highlight-reel fashion to set up Draisaitl scoring on the power play.
There were a lot of those — 10 in total — after officials whistled 14 penalties, including three in the first four minutes. Each team had a few calls it was not happy with, though most of that evened out over the course of the game.
EDMONTON, Canada — Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play in overtime, Stuart Skinner made 29 saves and the Edmonton Oilers erased a multigoal deficit to beat the defending champion Florida Panthers 4-3 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final rematch on Wednesday night.
After Tomas Nosek’s penalty for putting the puck over the glass, Draisaitl’s goal 19:29 into OT sent the home fans into a frenzy and made sure the Oilers would not start this series like they did a year ago, when they fell behind three games to none.
For a while, it looked like they would at least start out trailing. Draisaitl’s goal 66 seconds in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot in past Stuart Skinner after falling into him.
Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL’s situation room ruling that his own player, Jake Walman, tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on the power play.
Bennett scored his second of the night early in the second period to put the Panthers up 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission.
With Connor McDavid leading the way, the Oilers rallied. Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm — playing just his second game back from an extended injury absence — tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid.
At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or tying it late in the third. Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky did the same, in between derisive chants of “Sergei! Sergei!” that followed goals he allowed.
Skinner was greeted with friendlier chants of “Stuuuu” after saves, including one in the first minute of overtime on a quality scoring chance. Bobrovsky stone-cold robbed Trent Frederic nine minutes in but eventually cracked.
Game 2 is Friday night in Edmonton before the series shifts to Sunrise, Fla., for Games 3 and 4.
