Instant Reaction +19.0: Panthers hammer Oilers to take 2-1 lead in Stanley Cup Final

With just over two minutes left in the first period, the Panthers extended their lead, as Carter Verhaeghe beat Skinner above the blocker to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Oilers’ only glimmer of hope came early in the second period, as Corey Perry received a puck down low on a power play and made a nice move to beat Sergei Bobrovsky to cut the lead in half.

As you know, the Panthers scored four unanswered and instead of highlighting every single goal, let’s look at two. The third goal for the Panthers was the result of a referee being way too close to the play and getting in the way. If he’s not there, the goal probably doesn’t happen.

Florida’s fourth goal was another breakaway, as Vasily Podkolzin got rocked, eventually got the puck, and turned the puck over to Sam Bennett to go in all alone on Skinner. Far too many breakaways so far this series.

Takeaways from Game 3…

There’s a saying that the officials put away the whistle come playoff time. If this series has shown anything, that is absolutely false. They called seven minors before the first 20 minutes, similar to Game 2. Just brutal officiating in this series so far.

The Panthers received 11 power plays in this game, scoring three times. Edmonton finished with 85 penalty minutes to the Panthers’ 55 penalty minutes, a big reason for that was due to the final ten minutes of the game.

Were constant scrums embarrassing? Sure. But the Oilers showed life at the end of the game, they showed that they were pi--ed off, and they took a pound of flesh with them. This was a much better alternative to the Oilers going quietly into the night down 5-1 or 6-1. However, this can’t carry over to Game 4. The Oilers have to be disciplined because they’ve been burned all postseason on the penalty kill.

Evander Kane had a brutal game, taking two penalties in the offensive zone in the first period, including one that killed off the remainder of the Oilers’ first power play. He has to be better, because this is not the first time he’s done this.

John Klingberg needs to sit in the press box for the next game, he was easily the worst skater on the ice. Put Troy Stecher with Darnell Nurse and go from there.

Stuart Skinner wasn’t particularly good, allowing five goals on 23 shots for a .783 save percentage. Eventually, he was chased, and Calvin Pickard replaced him. Is that what the Oilers do moving forward? That’s to be seen.

The Oilers have another two days off before Game 4. That game starts on Thursday at 6:00 PM MT, and to be frank, it’s a must-win game for the Oilers.