Florida Leads 2-1 After Lopsided Game 3 Victory
The Florida Panthers surged to a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final with a dominant 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.
From the opening moments, Florida controlled the game. Brad Marchand, the hero of Game 2’s double overtime, wasted no time getting the Panthers on the board, scoring less than a minute into the game. Carter Verhaeghe extended Florida’s lead with a power-play goal, giving them a 2-0 advantage by the end of the first period, which was filled with penalties. Seven penalties were called in the first 20 minutes, and the Oilers headed to the locker room down by two goals.
Edmonton fought back in the second period when Corey Perry scored a power-play goal, putting the Oilers on the scoreboard. However, Florida quickly regained their lead with Sam Reinhart scoring the Panthers’ third goal.
The Oilers struggled to find their rhythm after that goal. Sam Bennett then scored his league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs, extending Florida’s lead to 4-1 midway through the second period. As the game went on, the Panthers took full control.
There was concern for Edmonton midway through the second frame when Connor McDavid was hit hard and left the ice, but the Oilers’ captain returned moments later.
In the third period, Edmonton’s troubles continued. Goalie Stuart Skinner was penalized for delay of game after flipping the puck over the glass, and Aaron Ekblad capitalized on the resulting power play, extending the Panthers’ lead to 5-1. Skinner was then pulled from the game in favor of backup Calvin Pickard.
Evan Rodrigues sealed the win for Florida, scoring a power-play goal with just under four minutes left, bringing the score to 6-1. The game ended with several fights and misconduct penalties, including a heated altercation between Oilers’ Darnell Nurse and Panthers’ Jonah Gadjovich. Despite the lopsided score, the Oilers led in shots, totaling 33 compared to the Panthers’ 31.
After the game, Evander Kane expressed frustration with the officiating and his team’s performance. “The game obviously got out of hand at the end there. That stuff is going to happen,” he said. “We didn’t play very well, that’s evident. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. We can definitely be a lot better,” Kane admitted.
The Oilers now look ahead to Game 4, hoping to bounce back from this tough loss.