Oilers lose their composure in Game 3 loss to Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers knew what they were getting into arriving at Amerant Bank Arena for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Florida Panthers have been tremendous in their home rink, and they knew they were entering a hostile environment — Evander Kane said as much before the game, saying, “We’re not deterred by hostile environments or tough places to play.”

And while that may not be true, looking back at the 60 minutes that were almost seemed as if they were, as Florida wound up winning 6-1 in a game that never felt close.

Just 56 seconds into the game the Panthers got on the board as none other than the man who iced Game 2, Brad Marchand, found a loose puck, burying it past a crowd in front of the crease. And while the Panthers were the ones to strike first in terms of getting penalized, Kane himself followed it up with cross-checking and high-sticking calls that forced the Oilers to spend four of the first 10 minutes of the game killing penalties.

But it didn’t stop there. A too many men called and a Viktor Arvidsson goaltender interference left the Oilers short-handed by the end of the first frame. Darnell Nurse’s cross-check in the second, Stuart Skinner’s delay of game call for firing the puck over the glass and Mattias Janmark’s roughing call — the latter two coming early in the third — sucked all the life out of the team.

Then as the third period progressed, all bets were off and the Oilers wanted their pound of flesh — something Oilers captain Connor McDavid said he doesn’t mind seeing.

“I don’t think we lost our composure until maybe the very end there trying to show a little fight back, but I don’t mind the fight back,” he said after the loss. “I think that’s what good teams do.

“Obviously not thrilled with the first period with giving up eight minutes in penalties. Our power play isn’t able to get one, their power play gets one and you’re in a hole right away in a tough building against a really good team. Not easy to chase games.”

While McDavid didn’t think the loss of composure came until later in the game, their inability to stay disciplined earlier in it tells a different story.

And while all know how Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch felt after the game — sarcastically taking aim at the officiating in the Stanley Cup Final: “I think the referees did an outstanding job tonight, and they even caught the too many men penalty in the first, which was too many men. They caught us there. I just wish they had been calling it in Game 2 in overtime.”

While the Oilers have had success chasing gamesin the past, mounting six straight come-from-behind wins between Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings and Game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights — setting an NHL record in the process — that’s not so easy this time of year.

After all, it is the best two teams in the league who are left standing.

Starting games on time has been an issue for the Oilers in not only these playoffs, but last years, too. And against a team like the Panthers, they can strike quickly, as Marchand showed Monday night.

That’s what left the Oilers behind the eight ball.

“I thought we got away from our game,” McDavid added. “Part of that is in due to chasing the game a little bit, part of that is credit to them, they played well.

“You find yourself in a hole, you’re going to do some uncharacteristic things and I thought we got away from our game a little bit there. We’ve done well chasing down games and turning the tide, obviously we didn’t do it tonight.”

The Panthers’ top line got involved in the series in a big way, as both Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each scored a goal and an assist, and Sam Bennett got the second line on the board, too.

Simply put, Edmonton needs to find a way to counter punch that scoring as their depth players haven’t shown up in a similar way. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been held off the scoresheet, as have the likes of Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Connor Brown, Trent Frederic, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak — a group that had 50 points combined, with Nugent-Hopkins leading the charge with 18.

Edmonton’s goal coming to Florida was a series split, and now that’s why they’ll look to do.

“We got to find a way to win a game. That’s it, that’s the only message,” said McDavid. “The focus shifts right away to winning a game on Thursday. We came for a split, didn’t get it tonight, another opportunity Thursday.”

That game is set to get going at 6:00 PM MT.