RECAP: Panthers 6, Oilers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Edmonton Oilers tried everything.

Heck, at one point they even sprayed a water bottle into Florida’s bench.

But even that couldn’t cool off the Panthers.

Filling up the back of the net, the defending Stanley Cup champions cruised to a 6-1 win over the Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Winning each of the last two games, Florida leads the series 2-1.

“We just wanted to protect home ice and play well in front of our fans,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It feels like we’ve been on the road all playoffs, which we have. It’s nice to come back here and play well in front of our fans because they deserve it.”

Giving the rowdy crowd in Sunrise something to cheer about just 56 seconds into the first period, Brad Marchand took a sweet dish from Anton Lundell and scored to make it 1-0.

Keeping the early lead intact, the Panthers held their ground on the penalty kill soon after, with Sergei Bobrovsky stopping all four shots that Edmonton’s loaded power play fired his way.

From there, special teams continued to reign supreme.

With the whistles blowing like a wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean, the Panthers and Oilers each found themselves with multiple opportunities to score on the power play.

Near the end of the period, the Panthers broke through with the man advantage when Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Evan Rodrigues and ripped a shot from the left circle over Stuart Skinner’s blocker and into the top corner of the cage to make it 2-0 at 17:45.

“It feels good,” Verhaeghe said of his goal. “I feel like our whole group was kind of waiting for the postseason. It kind of gives a little juice and some excitement. It feels good.”

After 20 minutes, there were seven combined power plays between the two teams.

“You’re trying to build the moment and stay in the moment,” said Bobrovsky, who made 12 of his 32 saves during the first period. “You want to help the guys to win the moment.”

Following a multi-player scuffle at the end of the first period, the Oilers started the second on the power play. Making it count, Corey Perry, who still has quite a bit left in the tank at 40 years old, beat Bobrovsky with a shot from in tight to cut Edmonton’s deficit to 2-1 at 1:40.

Undeterred, the Panthers regained their two-goal cushion just 1:20 later.

After a great forecheck from Aleksander Barkov popped the puck loose in Edmonton’s zone, Verhaeghe grabbed the biscuit and whipped it over to Sam Reinhart, who snapped a shot from the center of the left circle straight past Skinner to make it 3-1 at the 3-minute mark.

In a game of momentum swings, stopping the bleeding quickly is always key.

“The Sam Reinhart goal is the inflection point in the game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s 2-1. Especially based on what both teams have been through in the first two [games]. There is no lead at that point, and Sam’s goal was very important for us.”

Continuing his epic tear this postseason, Sam Bennett, who's already set a new NHL record for road goals in a single playoff run with 12, showed he can also get it done at home when he beat Skinner on a breakaway after a few quick dekes to push Florida’s lead to 4-1 at 7:26.

Bringing back old-school hockey, Bennett landed two crushing hits moments before his goal.

“He’s been an animal these whole playoffs,” Marchand said. “He’s built for this time of year with just how competitive he is an how intense. You see the physicality piece, too. That shift was a perfect example of his game. He blows two guys up and then somehow leads the rush after that and scores a beautiful goal. He can do it all.”

Not letting their foot off the gas in the third period, the Panthers were put in position to pounce once again early in the third period after Skinner took a delay-of-game penalty.

Finishing off a picturesque tic-tac-toe passing sequence, Aaron Ekblad cashed in on the man advantage with his fourth goal of the playoffs to increase the lead to 5-1 at 3:27.

With that, Skinner was relieved of his duties in Edmonton's net and replaced by backup Calvin Pickard.

With the game out of reach, the Oilers then turned their attention to extracurricular activities.

Following a few cross-checks to the ribs from Edmonton forward Trent Frederic on Bennett, a line brawl broke out between the two teams. While several scraps ensued, the title card really belonged to Jonah Gadjovich, who bested Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in a heavyweight brawl.

"They don't get the love all the time that they deserve,” Marchand said of Gadjovich and the rest of the fourth line. “An incredible guy, and that whole line. Gadjy did an incredible job sticking up for the guys there and taking on Nurse, who's obviously a tough guy as well. Their entire game, they carry so much emotion and give us so much energy and a lot of really good momentum swings in our favor.”

From that moment on, eight players received misconducts before the final horn.

Throwing in the towel, the Oilers accrued a whopping 85 penalty minutes in the game.

But even with their opponent essentially giving up, the Panthers pressed on and still tried to execute their game the best they could given the circumstances. Tacking on one more goal for good measure, Rodrigues made it 6-1 with a power-play tally at 16:10.

In addition to keeping their cool, the Panthers also kept their home-ice advantage.

Two wins down, two to go.

“The first period was a lot of special teams, second period was pretty 5-on-5, and third period was all power play,” Tkachuk said. “Got to save the legs a little bit in the third. A great first 40 [minutes]. Even in the third, we played super well, super disciplined, like a veteran, older team who’s been here. This is our third time at it. You know it’s a series and you’ve got to stick up for each other, but you’ve got to be smart about it. I thought it was great guys were sticking up for each other. At the end of the day, it’s a big win but it’s just one game.”

THEY SAID IT

“I thought everybody had a great game. We played simple, hard, fast, physical and supported each other up and down the ice.” – Matthew Tkachuk

“I think we just kind of stick to our game. They have a different style to us. It got away at the end, and that’s kind of what happened.” – Carter Verhaeghe

“Emotions in all of these games are extremely high. Obviously, at this time of the year when you’re playing, you’re enjoying every minute.” – Brad Marchand

CATS STATS

- At 37 years old, Brad Marchand is the oldest player to ever score in the first three games of the Cup Final in NHL history.

- Carter Verhaeghe set a franchise record with his ninth career power-play goal in the playoffs.

- Nate Schmidt has recorded at least one assist in each of the first three games of the Cup Final.

- Paul Maurice earned his 1,000^th career win between the regular season and playoffs.

- Sergei Bobrovsky has made 116 saves through the first three games of the series, which is tied for the second most through three games of a Cup Final.

- Aleksander Barkov won a team-high 12 faceoffs.

- Aaron Ekblad logged a team-high five hits.

- Eetu Luostarinen dished out two assists.

- Evan Rodrigues recorded a goal and an assist.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s time to play the waiting game … again.

With two days off in between games, the Panthers will return to the ice and try to take a 3-1 lead in the series when they host the Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.

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