Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl joined forces on Edmonton's top line to help spark a comeback win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but it doesn't sound like the superstars will stick together.

"It’s nice to know that when those two get together mid-game that the results are pretty good, but it’s something that we can’t rely on," said coach Kris Knoblauch.

The Florida Panthers tilted the ice in the second period on Wednesday night, outshooting the Oilers 17-8, which prompted Knoblauch to make a line change.

"We got to our game in the second," said Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk. "They mixed and matched and changed up some of their lines in the third, got some momentum from it."

Shots favoured the Oilers 10-2 in the nine-plus minutes that McDavid, Draisaitl and Corey Perry shared the ice in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win.

"They play incredibly well together," Oilers winger Evander Kane said of McDavid and Draisaitl. "They read off each other well. They have different skill-sets that elevate their skill-sets together."

The Oilers dominated possession in the third period with McDavid setting up the tying goal by defenceman Mattias Ekholm with a slick pass through traffic from behind the net. Did they make eye contact beforehand?

"Not that I know, but sometimes he’s got eyes in his neck, so you never know, right," Ekholm said with a smile. "He put it on a platter for me. I had to score that one."

The Oilers outshot the Panthers 14-2 in the third period and 10-6 in overtime. McDavid set up Draisaitl for the game-winning goal on the power play.

"It’s on the rest of the group to step up and contribute as well when you don’t have them going 1-2 down the middle," said Kane. "I thought we did a good job of that in the latter half of the game."

So, why is Knoblauch reluctant to simply stick with his two top players together?

"Leon playing centre just spreads out our scoring a little bit," the second-year coach noted. "It also gets him in the game a little bit more. He’s skating and involved. It also allows the rest of our team [to know] that they got a role, they got to play well, and we’re not just relying on this one line that is........

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