3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Edmonton Oilers Game 3

Absolute chaos is the only way to describe how Game 3 ended between the Panthers and Oilers. Florida, like they’ve done all postseason, dominated Edmonton in a decisive 6-1 win match that became the fourth most penalized Cup Final Game ever. The penalty carousel was on a never-ending loop with a final 140 combined PIMs when all was said and done. The Cats’ penalty kill was sharp in the first period, the big-name players were all over the scoresheet, and when things got messy in the final period, the Panthers didn’t back down. Despite having watched Florida blow teams all postseason, I didn’t expect it to happen in the Cup Final. However, high-emotion games are where the Cats thrive, and few teams, if any, can play the mental game as well as they do.

Opening Period Special Teams Battle:

Apparently, a running theme of this Cup Final is heavily penalized first periods. Brad Marchand opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the game off a sneaky feed from Lundell from behind the net. Anton had the puck behind the net, and there was chaos out in front. Seeing this, he sent it toward that chaos instead of taking the puck all the way around the back of the net. Marchand eventually picked up the loose puck and shot it between Kapanen’s legs to score; Skinner had lost the puck and was well out of position, giving Marchand plenty of net to shoot at. From there, the penalties started with Lundell (3:22, tripping) and Kane (5:13, cross-checking, 7:54, high-sticking) getting penalties in the first ten minutes. Ekblad (11:02, tripping), Bennett (14:37, high sticking), Arvidsson (17:14, goalie interference), and Lundell (20:00, roughing) all had calls in the second half of the period. Edmonton had some dangerous chances, but Bobrovsky was locked in and rock solid, stopping all 12 shots he saw in the first period. Bob’s performance is going to get lost in the conversation due to how the game ended, but he was a huge part of the penalty kill success in the first. He ended his night stopping 32 of 33 shots and a .970 SV% and tied with Olaf Kolzig for the second most saves through the first three games of a Cup Final at 116. Verhaeghe scored during Florida’s power play from the Arvidsson penalty, recording his 7th goal of the playoffs. It was a vintage Carter Verhaeghe goal that he sniped top shelf right under the bar over Skinner’s shoulder on the blocker side. There wasn’t much space given, but there was just enough for Carter to thread the needle. Florida took a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Second Period Sams Shine:

Off the Lundell penalty, the Oilers got on the board with a goal from Perry. However, Sam Reinhart answered back in short order to restore the 2-goal lead. Barkov won’t get credited with an assist, but his hard battle along the boards allowed Verhaeghe to come in and pick up the loose puck and make a quick pass to Reinhart. Samson then sniped it in high on the blocker side of Skinner, giving the Panthers a 3-1 lead. From there, Florida kept their foot on the gas and didn’t look back. One of the biggest highlight plays came from one Sam Bennett, who’s been an absolute monster this postseason. Bennett landed a monster open ice hit on Podkolzin and then another hit on Klingberg along the walls, which caused the puck to get free. Luostarinen picked up and, seeing that Bennett was coming in with speed, passed the puck ahead so Sam could get to it in stride. The transition offense gave the Panthers a 2-on-0 to eventually a Bennett breakaway where he buried the puck for Florida’s 4th goal of the night, and the Cats would take a 4-1 lead going into the second intermission.

Good Vibes And Fight Club:

By the time the third period rolled around, the game was pretty much done. The odds of the Panthers giving up three goals in the final twenty minutes were highly unlikely with the way they were playing. Skinner got called for a delay of the game, leading to a beautiful goal from Ekblad. Tight and quick passing froze the Oilers’ defense, and a no-look backhanded pass from Reinhart got the puck to a wide-open Ekblad, who one-timed it for the 5-1 lead; Tkachuk got the secondary assist. There’d been some chippiness throughout the game, but it all boiled over in the third period. Janmark (5:07, roughing) and Marchand (7:52, hooking) both took penalties before a line brawl broke out. Frederic started cross-checking Bennett and eventually broke his stick in the process, which set off the Panthers, and five different fights emerged. The longest fight went to Gadjovich and Nurse, which led to fighting majors and misconducts for both. Greer, Bennett, and Frederic were also thrown out with misconducts and additional roughing penalties, and Ekholm was given a misconduct as well. It didn’t stop there as Walman targeted Tkachuk, he was awarded a roughing double minor and an unsportsmanlike conduct. Kapanen was given a cross-checking penalty with a misconduct, and the final penalty went to Luostarinen for charging. That’s not to mention the fighting that happened after the final buzzer sounded as well. The Panthers weren’t phased by all the extracurriculars with Gadjovich having several meme-worthy moments that got shown on the broadcast, Mikkola laughing and pointing in Perry’s face, and Tkachuk also having a laugh when the Oilers targeted him. Evan Rodrigues scored on a late powerplay with a one-timer shot from Mikkola for the final 6-1 score. He did his best Barkov impression and didn’t even celebrate the goal. Florida thrives in that environment when things get chippy between the teams and it’s nearly impossible to out do the Panthers at their own game. I’m expecting a tighter game in Game 4, so the Cats will need to be at their best to handle Edmonton.