Oilers are playing the hits early in the Stanley Cup Final, matching the Panthers’ physicality WSOC TV [Video]

EDMONTON, Alberta — (AP) — 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.

“We’re a team that has proven we’re going to play hard throughout the entire playoffs,” winger Evander Kane, who had a game-high nine hits, said Thursday. “Just because we’re playing Florida, that’s not going to change.”

Doing so without injured forward Zach Hyman, the leading hitter in the playoffs, meant a team toughness, by committee approach. Guys like Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin who are not known for that aspect …