Oilers are playing the hits early in the Stanley Cup Final, matching the Panthers' physicality

Connor McDavid had two hits on the opening shift of the Stanley Cup Final, and that was just the start of the Edmonton Oilers taking the body in Game 1 of their rematch against the Florida Panthers. The series opener was a clear message that for all their skill and talent, the Oilers are eager to counter Florida’s physicality with some of their own. The teams combined for 102 hits, many of them bruising body checks sending opponents into the glass and to the ice.