In a sea of surely desolate Oilers fans, Brad Marchand’s mother, Lynn, made her presence known.
Having just watched her oldest son score a double-overtime goal to give the Panthers a 5-4 win in Game 2 to even the Stanley Cup Final at 1-1, Lynn clapped and screamed, seemingly saying, “Way to go Brad.”
Lynn is a hockey mom through and through, which Brad appreciates even if perhaps she can be a bit vociferous at times.
“She is one that you need to put a muzzle on,” Marchand said with a laugh after the game. “She gets pretty amped up at the games. They’ve always been so supportive, like all of our parents. I don’t think there’s a player in this league that could say their parents are not the main reason why they’re here, the sacrifices they make and when you go on a journey as a team and you get to the Finals and you’re going on a run, it’s not just for you, it’s for everybody that helped you get here and all your loved ones that are enjoying the moment, whether they’re here or not. It’s special to have them in the building, but hopefully we have a lot of great memories in the future as well.”
Lynn certainly had plenty of reason to go wild Friday night in Edmonton since it’s possible her son’s goal saved the Panthers’ season.
The defending champions lost Game 1 in overtime and twice fell behind in Game 2, trailing 1-0 and 3-2, but rallied to take a 4-3 lead before disaster struck in the last minute.
The Oilers scored with 18 seconds remaining to force overtime and now had all the momentum entering the sudden-death overtime session.
Marchand previously gave the Panthers that 4-3 edge by scoring in the second period and he ended the game 8:05 into the second overtime when he beat Stuart Skinner on a breakaway.
“To be honest, I blacked out,” Marchand told the TNT crew. “I don’t even know where it went.”
He later told reporters: “It’s a good one to win. liked the way we played tonight.”
Marchand’s teammates swamped him to celebrate the massive road win, while Lynn offered all her support from the stands at Rogers Place.
The series now shifts to Sunrise, Fla., for the next two contests, beginning with Monday’s Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
Perhaps there will be more celebrations in store for Brad and Lynn.
“He’s been incredible for us this whole playoffs, just scoring massive goals at massive times,” teammate Sam Bennett said. “That one was definitely the biggest.”
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