Florida Panthers Arena (Formerly BB&T Center) – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Ben Ezra
Sunrise, Florida – In Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers thrashed the Edmonton Oilers 6-1. They had a near-line fight in the third period, took 21 penalties for 85 penalty minutes, removed their starting goalie, and one of their players became so mad that he squirted a stream from his water bottle toward the Florida bench.
Nevertheless, Florida grabbed a 2-1 series lead Monday night, and the Oilers vowed that the Panthers, who are regarded as the NHL’s most irate team, didn’t get under their skin or in their heads.
“No, I don’t believe that. The game clearly went out of control toward the end, in my opinion. Things like that are going to occur. Winger Evander Kane, who had more penalty minutes (16) in Game 3 than in his previous 17 postseason games combined (14), stated, “You look at some of the calls and whatnot, [and] obviously some of them are frustrating.”
According to Kane, the Oilers were fined for attempting to match the Panthers’ aggressiveness and aggression, while Florida was not.
“Compared to us, they appear to get away with it more. It’s difficult to draw the line. They’re doing as much as we do,” Kane remarked. “There seems to be a little bit more attention on our group.”
During the game, the Panthers had 55 penalty minutes and 14 penalties.
Following two close games that ended the series tied at one, both of which required overtime to be decided, Game 3 was a landslide victory that favored the Panthers.
“I immediately believed that we were playing what Florida sort of desired: a lot of penalties, a little bit of grinding, and a little bit of a track meet. Oilers goalkeeper Stuart Skinner, who had his worst performance in weeks, said, “It was just penalty chaos tonight.” Skinner was pulled at 3:27 of the third period after a delay of game penalty for a puck over the glass that led to Florida’s fifth goal.
The Panthers’ agitating skills are excellent. Edmonton accepted the bait for the first time in the series.
In the first period, Kane was given two penalties in 2:41. In the third period, he slashed Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe as Verhaeghe was on his stomach.
After the second period, Corey Perry yelled at fourth-liner Jonah Gadjovich and called the Panthers “turtles” as he was exiting the ice. A.J. Greer, a fourth-line player for the Panthers, snatched the glove off Oilers defenseman Jake Walman and placed it on the bench. In response, Walman grabbed his water bottle and stood at his own bench, shooting a stream at Florida’s players.
Yes, it’s clear that I had a purpose when I did that. I’m not going into the specifics. I suppose it’s just gamesmanship,” Walman remarked. “I’ve just got to realize there’s cameras everywhere and they see that stuff.”
Oilers center Trent Frederic attempted a cross-check on Florida’s Sam Bennett with 9:31 remaining in regulation, breaking his own stick in the process. Then he pulled Bennett down by grabbing the back of his jersey. A near-line fight broke out, with Bennett punching Frederic as he was being detained by a linesman on the ice.
“He’s been an animal this whole playoffs,” said Brad Marchand, a winger with the Panthers. “He’s designed for this season. How fierce, how competitive, and of course, the bodily component.”
recently 56 seconds into the first period, Marchand, who had recently ended Game 2 in double OT with a breakaway goal, opened the scoring. As Skinner desperately lunged at a nonexistent puck, he delivered a shot high into the net.
Until Verhaeghe tore a shot over Skinner’s right shoulder for a power-play goal and a 2-0 lead at 17:45, the remainder of the first period was a procession of penalties, four for each team, with nothing showing up on the scoreboard. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky received a goalie interference penalty, which put Viktor Arvidsson of Edmonton in the penalty box.
“We must exercise greater discipline than that. We are aware of that. I mean, they’ll figure something out eventually. What a fantastic crew. There, we slightly put ourselves in the wrong position. “You know, it kind of takes the flow out of it.” “Walman said.”
1:40 into the second period, Perry scored a power-play goal to halve the deficit, but 1:20 later, Sam Reinhart scored his first goal of the series to restore the two-goal edge. The Panthers swiftly increased their lead with another goal, Bennett’s 14th of the playoffs, defeating Skinner on a breakaway, as they have done throughout the series.
Following the Panthers’ sixth goal on the power play, which was scored by defenseman Aaron Ekblad after Skinner soared the ball over the glass, Skinner was pursued in the third period. Skinner’s night was done after that.
Although he hasn’t decided who will start in goal for Game 4, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch stated during the game that he didn’t believe Skinner “had much chance on many of those goals” prior to being pulled.
During the third period, which was tainted by eight misconduct penalties and numerous other calls as Edmonton attempted to send a late-game message, Evan Rodrigues scored the Panthers’ sixth goal on the penalty play late in the frame.
“The two teams will support one another. They look out for one another. For the past three years, the team’s drivers have been consistent, and the nucleus of both teams is essentially the same. Paul Maurice, the coach of the Panthers, stated that they will always support one another.
Walman claimed that since the stakes were so high, feelings would inevitably flare up.
“You know, it’s for the Stanley Cup. … Not a single inch is visible outside. Out there, that’s a game for adult men. The faint of heart should not attempt it. You realize that guys are risking everything? “I said.”
Game 4 is Thursday night in Sunrise, giving Edmonton two days to start over.
“I thought we got away from our game,” stated Connor McDavid, the captain of the Oilers. “It’s partly because I chased it a little bit. Of course, they deserve some of the credit for that. They performed admirably. I thought we strayed a bit from our game there, and you’re going to do some uncharacteristic things now because you’re in a hole.”
The Oilers will need more from their two top players, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are the first and second-leading scorers in the playoffs, if they are to earn a split before returning to Edmonton.
This was only the 13th time that neither McDavid nor Draisaitl scored in a playoff game. In those games, the Oilers had a 2-11 record. For the second time in his 93 playoff appearances, Draisaitl did not attempt a shot during the game.
“Clearly, we weren’t at our best. Not at all our best. McDavid remarked, “I don’t think our best has shown up all series long, but it’s coming.”
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.