The score was 6-1, but the game didn’t even seem that close. Here’s how it all happened, and what comes next.
Go ahead and count to 11. One. Two. Yada Yada. Eleven.
That’s how many times the Florida Panthers have scored five or more goals in a single game this postseason. No, really. They did it twice against the Tampa Bay Lightning, three times to the Toronto Maple Leafs, four times against the Carolina Hurricanes and after doing it in Game 2 to the Edmonton Oilers, they did it again Monday in a 6-1 romp in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Scoring goals in bunches is clearly nothing new for the Panthers. But to give up more than five goals in a playoff game? Prior to Game 2, the last time the Oilers allowed that many in a single contest was in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals — a series they would go on to win.
Florida taking a 2-1 series lead means the defending Stanley Cup champions are now two wins away from repeating. Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton examine how Game 3 played out, what players to watch going forward and what questions each team must answer going into Game 4 on Wednesday.
Florida got the better of Edmonton in every respect: they outworked, and simply outmatched, the Oilers at even strength and on special teams. The Panthers’ forecheck was relentless, they won more battles along the boards and, perhaps most critically, held Edmonton’s stars — and entire offense, really — at bay. That latter feat was due in large part to a sensational performance in net from Sergei Bobrovsky, who outplayed Stuart Skinner at the other end.
The Panthers were in control of Game 3 from the start, with Brad Marchand’s goal less than a minute into the first period, and eventually got their power play going when Carter Verhaeghe lit the lamp on their fourth attempt of the first period. Sam Reinhart’s response to Corey Perry’s goal early in the second period and Sam Bennett’s breakaway after that only cemented further how dialed in Florida was.
Going in the third period up 4-1, knowing they were 30-1 in the postseason under Paul Maurice when leading after two periods, was all the positivity the Panthers needed to not just chase Skinner from the cage but cruise their way to a resounding win. — Shilton
Once again, the Oilers had another period in which they gave up two goals, adding to what’s been another chronic issue this series, along with slow starts as a whole. There were the struggles to retain the puck, only to then give up turnovers that led to goals. Take away the goal from Corey Perry that was set up by Evan Bouchard, and the Oilers’ supporting cast also struggled to make an impact while Los Gatos had six different goal scorers.
The Oilers also couldn’t keep their cool, finishing with 85 penalty minutes, which is the most in a Cup final game since 1986.
