The Florida Panthers soundly took Game 3 (and thus, the series lead) in their triumphant return to Sunrise versus the Edmonton Oilers, bringing the Stanley Cup Final series count to 2-1. AJ Greer returned to the lineup for the Panthers; Jesper Boqvist sat out to free up a spot for him. For the Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins drew into the lineup as a game-time decision.
First Period
The Panthers quickly struck first in their return to Sunrise; Panthers legend Brad Marchand capitalized on a scoring chance in front of the Oilers’ net to break the scoreless tie just 54 seconds into the game. Shortly after, the two teams traded power-play opportunities, but neither side gave way. The Panthers even got an additional chance with the man advantage, but were still unable to convert. At the midway point of the first period, shot totals favored the Oilers 9-8.
The second half of the first period was marked by both teams again trading penalties back and forth with surprisingly little offense to show for it, especially given how each of the other two first periods had gone between these two teams this series. Toward the end of the first period, Carter Verhaeghe converted on a Panthers power play, bringing the scoreline to 2-0; shot totals still favored the Oilers, 12-10.
Second Period
The Oilers started the second period on the power play; Anton Lundell was sent to the box for the post-whistle antics at the end of the first period. The Oilers finally found the back of the net with the man advantage courtesy of Corey Perry to cut the Panthers’ lead to 2-1. Not to be outdone, the Panthers answered back minutes later; Sam Reinhart, for the first time since Round 2, found the back of the net to bring the Panthers’ lead to 3-1.
Seth Jones was a standout this period as well; the stalwart defenseman has been playing exactly as advertised. Sam Bennett continued the offensive onslaught; shortly after Reinhart’s goal, Bennett laid a massive hit on Vasily Podkolzin that led directly to a breakaway going the other way. Bennett – now the leading playoff goalscorer – made good on his chance in alone against Stuart Skinner, and the Panthers’ lead grew to 4-1. The second period was ultimately marked by Skinner seemingly falling back to Earth, while Sergei Bobrovsky seemed to have finally ascended back to his throne, as shot totals still favored Edmonton 24-19 despite the lopsided score.
Third Period
The Panthers started the third period on the power play this time, but were unable to capitalize with the man advantage. Shortly after killing off the Panthers’ penalty, Skinner launched the puck over the glass after coming out of his crease to play it behind the net, giving the Panthers yet another opportunity with the man advantage. Aaron Ekblad converted with the man advantage, pulling the Panthers ahead 5-1. Skinner was pulled immediately after, concluding his aforementioned fall back to Earth; backup netminder Calvin Pickard took his place in the Oilers’ crease.
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After a few fights, scrums, and post-whistle antics, the Panthers returned to the power play at the midway point of the final frame, but were unsuccessful at converting. After even more post-whistle antics, an Evander Kane 10-minute misconduct for hitting a downed Verhaeghe in the face with his stick, and an Evan Rodrigues power-play goal to bring the scoreline to 6-1, the Panthers are two games away from winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
