6/9/2025
SUNRISE, FLA
The Florida Panthers stand two games away from winning their second consecutive championship after a 6-1 drubbing of the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Evan Rodrigues scored for Florida. Corey Perry tallied the lone goal for the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner was pulled for Calvin Pickard after Ekblad gave the Panthers a 5-1 lead.
In game two, Brad Marchand scored the Panthers’ last two goals including the double overtime winner to down the Oilers 5-4. The series traversed to Florida where the Panthers held a record of 4-3 in the playoffs.
Florida jumped in front early, scoring on a delay penalty with Brad Marchand notching another goal. The lamp lighter 56 seconds into the game set the tone for the Panthers. Similarly to how Game 2 was, special teams highlighted the first period. Eight penalties impacted the opening period with four penalties split between the two foes. A goaltender interference penalty on Viktor Arvidsson left the door ajar for Florida’s power play to go to work. Carter Verhaeghe scored on the right hash at 17:45 to put the Cats in front 2-0. A lead the Panthers took into the dressing room.
Edmonton scored early in the second period when Corey Perry slammed in a loose rebound from a one time blast from Evan Bouchard. The goal came at 1:40 of the period. 80 seconds later, Florida answered. Aleksander Barkov used a referee to shake off John Klingberg to allow the Fin to find Sam Reinhart. Reinhart’s goal at 3:00 gave the Panthers insurance. Sam Bennett continued to pour fuel on the Oilers’ fire. The former Calgary Flame was sprung loose on a breakaway from Eetu Luostarinen. Bennett scored his 14th playoff goal, only his second at home. The goal at 7:26 gave the Panthers a 4-1 lead. After 40 minutes, the lone goal from Corey Perry was the furthest extent of scoring for Edmonton.
In the third period, Aaron Ekblad scored early at 3:27. After the goal, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner for Calvin Pickard. Edmonton would not be where they are without the impact of Calvin Pickard. The former Seattle Thunderbird replaced Skinner for the Oilers after Game 2 of the Oilers’ first round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Evan Rodrigues tallied a 5 on 3 power play goal at 16:10 to further cement the Panthers win.
The Panthers’ 6-1 win puts Florida two wins away from lifting the Stanley Cup again. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in the win.
It was all Panthers seemingly from start to finish. Florida in the end finished the night going 3/11 on the man advantage. Leon Draisaitl was held without a shot by the Panthers.
Matthew Tkachuk remarked on the Panthers maturity saying, “we played like a solid veteran team that’s been there before.” The win tonight for Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice gives him 1,000 wins in his coaching career. Maurice is only the third coach in NHL history to hit such a benchmark.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid summed up the night for the Oilers saying, “wasn’t our best at all, I don’t think our best has shown up all series long, but it’s coming.” Questions may hinge on the Oilers side of who the goalie would be in Game 4. Goaltender Stuart Skinner in his assessment remarked the Oilers, “right away we ended up playing what Florida wanted…it was just penalty chaos tonight.”
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Thursday night 5 p.m. pacific time on TNT.
Stay tuned to ESN for continued updates on the Stanley Cup Final.
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