Panthers continue to display resilience to win Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON — The Florida Panthers should have been gutted.

They were just 18 seconds away from a 4-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, just 18 precious seconds from tying the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final 1-1 heading back home to Sunrise, Florida for Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Then Oilers forward Corey Perry stomped on that dream, scoring the tying goal at 19:42 of the third period to send the game to overtime deadlocked at 4-4.

How did the Panthers respond to that aching heartbreak as they gathered inside their dressing room to regroup before the start of extra time?

“It was the opposite of what you guys probably thought was going on in the locker room,” Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “We were upbeat, joking around, picking guys who we thought were going to score.

“We were having some fun.”

Of course they were.

Because that’s what these Panthers do.

It’s who these Panthers are.

Their penchant for laughing at adversity is one of the signature trademarks of this Paul Maurice-coached team, a trait that helped them win the Stanley Cup a year ago.

And on this night, when most teams would have been devastated at blowing such a late lead on a big stage, they shook it off and reloaded as they almost always seem to do.