Yahoo Sports Stanley Cup Final Game 3: Florida Panthers 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
The Florida Panthers took care of business in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, sweeping their opening home games in the best-of-7 series with the Edmonton Oilers to put themselves within two victories of winning the Cup for the first time in the franchise’s 30-season history.
Now comes the next step: Finding a way to keep the momentum up now that the series has shifted to the road for the next two games.
So far, so good.
Florida withstood a late Edmonton rally to win Game 3 4-3 on Thrusday at Edmonton’s Rogers Place to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and an assist. Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Bennett also scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots he faced.
Oilers within one
Edmonton isn’t going down quietly.
The Oilers are now within a goal, 4-3, after a Brett Kulak shot from the point deflected off Ryan McLeod in front of the net and past Sergei Bobrovsky.
5:17 left to play...
Edmonton gets one back in the third
The Oilers cut Florida’s lead to two goals 6:02 into the third when a Philip Broberg shot bounced off Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola and into the net past Sergei Bobrovsky.
It’s still 4-2 Florida with 13:58 left to play.
Florida blowing game open
Aleksander Barkov gave the Panthers their third goal of the second period with a snap shot from up close to push Florida’s lead to 4-1 with 4:29 left in the second period.
It was Barkov’s second point of the night.
Panthers push lead to 3-1 in second
The Panthers executed on a Darnell Nurse turnover, with Sam Bennett scoring on a feed from Matthew Tkachuk to put Florida up 3-1 with 6:03 left in the second period.
Bennett is now on a six-game point streak. Tkachuk’s assist gives him 20 points this playoffs.
Tarasenko gives Panthers the lead again
Vladimir Tarasenko put Florida up 2-1 9:12 into the second period when he scored from up close on a nearly wide-open net with Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner out of position trying to play the puck.
It was Tarasenko’s fourth goal of the playoffs — he has one in each series the Panthers have played — and Eetu Luostarinen got the primary assist.
Edmonton ties it early in second
Warren Foegele tied the game 1:49 into the second period on a breakaway.
It’s just the second goal Edmonton has scored this series and the first at five-on-five.
It’s also the first time the Panthers have allowed a five-on-five goal since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers.
Quick thoughts from the first
Florida weathered a five-minute surge from Edmonton late in the first before finally capitalizing for the first goal of the game.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been stellar in the early going for the Panthers, stopping all 13 shots he faced — including three high-danger shots.
Panthers open scoring late in the first
Sam Reinhart opened scoring with just over a minute left in the first period when he tipped in a pass from Gustav Forsling just in front of the net to beat Stuart Skinner.
That goal came with the game at four-on-four, with both Matthew Tkachuk and Brett Kulak in the box for coincidental roughing penalties following a fracas after a Sergei Bobrovksy save.
It was Reinhart’s ninth goal of the playoffs and first of the Stanley Cup Final.
Each team opens with a big penalty kill
Through 13 minutes, the score is 0-0. Florida has a slight lead in shots on goal (8-7) and each team has killed off a penalty — Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for interference, Florida’s Aleksander Barkov for delay of game.
What lineups should look like
Based on rushes during pregame warmups, here are what the lineups for both teams should look like.
Florida Panthers
FORWARD LINES
Evan Rodrigues-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Vladimir Tarasenko
Steven Lorentz-Kevin Stenlund-Kyle Okposo
DEFENSE PAIRS
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Dmitry Kulikov
GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky
Edmonton Oilers
FORWARD LINES
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman
Corey Perry-Leon Draisaitl-Ryan McLeod
Mattias Janmark-Adam Henrique-Connor Brown
Warren Foegele-Derek Ryan-Dylan Holloway
DEFENSE PAIRS
Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse-Philip Broberg
Brett Kulak-Cody Ceci
GOALTENDERS
Stuart Skinner
Series schedule and recaps
▪ Game 1: Panthers star goaltender and Vezina Trophy finalist Sergei Bobrobsky put up arguably his best performance of the playoffs, stopped all 32 shots he faced in a 3-0 win for his second shutout of these Stanley Cup playoffs.
It’s the first shutout in Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final since Roberto Luongo turned aside all 36 shots he faced in the 2011 Cup Final-opener for the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins.
Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida to give Bobrovsky all the cushion he needed.
▪ Game 2: The Panthers rallied from an early deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 and take a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Niko Mikkola tied the game in the second period and Evan Rodrigues scored twice in the third to give Florida a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Aaron Ekblad capped scoring with an empty-net goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped the final 18 shots he faced.
▪ Game 3: Tonight
▪ Game 4: Saturday, June 15, Edmonton’s Rogers Place, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
▪ Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 18, Sunrise’s Amerant Bank Arena, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
▪ Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, June 21, Edmonton’s Rogers Place, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
▪ Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, June 24, Sunrise’s Amerant Bank Arena, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN+
Pregame Panthers reading
Need to catch up ahead of Game 3? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ After an injury scare late in Game 2, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will play in Game 3 against the Oilers.
▪ The Panthers’ flight to Edmonton was delayed more than three-and-a-half hours on Wednesday, but the team said it wasn’t as big of a deal as you might think.
▪ Anton Lundell, the Panthers’ “Baby Barky,” has stepped up time and again throughout the playoffs.
▪ History is on the Panthers’ side with a 2-0 lead in the series.
▪ Niko Mikkola caused a massive swing of emotions in the second period of Game 2
▪ Evan Rodrigues sparked the Panthers’ comeback in Game 2
The Edmonton perspective
For the Oilers’ vantage point ahead of Game 3, here are some stories courtesy of the Edmonton Journal...
▪ Edmonton Oilers need to unleash biggest weapon; teammates feel Nurse’s pain
▪ 5 THINGS: How will the Edmonton Oilers turn this Stanley Cup Final around?
▪ ‘We’ve seen a lot worse’: Two-nothing is nothing, say Edmonton Oilers
▪ Edmonton Oilers coach demotes veteran d-man Ceci, shuffles lines, but is it enough to beat Florida Panthers?
▪ Here’s why the Edmonton Oilers shouldn’t be worried, and why they should
▪ Philip Broberg has been a revelation for Edmonton Oilers
▪ The Oilers have to get to Bobrovsky in Game 2, among other things
