The Florida Panthers are solely a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the primary time in franchise historical past.
On Thursday, the Panthers constructed a three-goal lead heading into the third interval, in the end holding on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Recreation 3 of the Stanley Cup Remaining. Florida now owns a commanding 3-0 benefit, with an opportunity to shut issues out Saturday on the highway.
The turning level of Recreation 3 got here halfway by the second interval. What was a tie sport, 1-1, early within the interval shortly grew to become 4-1 within the blink of an eye fixed.
The Panthers notched three objectives over the ultimate 10:48 of the second, scored by Vladimir Tarasenko (9:12), Sam Bennett (13:57) and Aleksander Barkov (15:31).
Stymied a lot of the evening by the Panthers’ smothering forecheck and superior goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, the Oilers tried a comeback late. Objectives from Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod made issues attention-grabbing down the stretch, however Edmonton ran out of time.
The Oilers outshot the Panthers 35-23 and managed play by important parts of the sport. Nonetheless, they did not reap the benefits of 13 first-period photographs and, regardless of attending to him late, have been unable to unravel Bobrovsky sufficient regardless of quite a few possibilities.
In the meantime, Edmonton’s top-ranked energy play continued to battle. The unit went 0-for-3 on Thursday, managing solely six photographs complete. The Oilers are actually 0-for-10 on the person benefit for the collection.
Oilers star Connor McDavid regarded defeated after the loss, saying he felt the sport “was proper there” for Edmonton to seize.
Whereas the Panthers practically let issues slip away within the third, their recipe success labored once more in Recreation 3. A continuing forechecking wave, stable goaltending and well timed scoring once more led Florida to victory.
All 4 of the Panthers’ objectives got here off misplays or turnovers by the Oilers. Conversely, on the opposite facet, they leaned on Bobrovsky, who was glorious once more, making 32 saves.
The Panthers are within the driver’s seat however aren’t trying too far forward. After the win, Barkov mentioned the crew knew Recreation 4 could be the “hardest” of the collection to win.
The Oilers will host the Panthers, trying to stave off elimination, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
