Panthers' Explosive Second Period in Game Three Puts Them on the Verge of Stanley Cup Victory
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers squared off in Game Three of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, which moved to Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Panthers led the series 2-0 going into tonight's game and were looking to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Panthers have shown to be the more adept side at converting on their shot attempts and generating traffic in front of the net during the first two games. As teams who lead 2-0 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series go on to win the Stanley Cup 91 percent of the time, the Panthers entered tonight's Game Three in a strong position. The Oilers, on the other hand, were determined to buck the trend, and they began by trying to win Game Three in Edmonton as they hosted their first Stanley Cup Finals game for the first time since 2006. Gaining momentum on their power play was crucial for Edmonton heading into Game Three, as they had failed to score in their previous two games, going 0-for-7. The Panthers were able to contain the Oilers' special team unit once again in Game Three, prevailing 4-3 thanks to a three-goal second period that has them one win away from winning the Stanley Cup.
Both the Oilers and the Panthers would come out swinging in the opening period, combining for 23 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of action. Leon Draisaitl nearly scored for the Oilers on their first power play of the game midway through the period after captain Connor McDavid cross-iced the puck to him near the right circle, but Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers stopped Draisaitl's shot to keep the game scoreless. The Panthers and Oilers would be called for roughing penalties with under two minutes remaining in the first period, leading to a final two minutes of four-on-four play. With 1:02 remaining in the period, the Panthers would take the lead at 1-0 when Gustav Forsling entered the Oilers' zone and received a feed from Aleksander Barkov, the shot deflected out in front of the net, allowing Sam Reinhart to tip the puck past Stuart Skinner, the Oilers' goalie, and into the net to break the scoreless tie.
Less than two minutes into the second period, at 1:49, Adam Henrique corralled the puck along the boards at center ice and found a wide-open Warren Foegele for a breakaway opportunity, allowing the Oilers to tie the game at one after Foegele broke into the Panthers' zone, and he wrist-shot the puck past Bobrovsky. Midway through the period, at 9:12, the Oilers' goalie Stuart Skinner misplayed a dump-in pass behind the net, allowing Eetu Luostarinen to corral the loose puck and quickly find Vladimir Tarasenko, who crashed the net and beat Skinner with a quick wrist shot, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead. At 13:57, almost four minutes later, Sam Bennett scored his seventh goal of the playoffs, beating Skinner top-shelf after Matthew Tkachuk found him for a feed in the faceoff circle to increase the Panthers’ lead to 3-1. Just 1:34 later, at 15:31, the Panthers would double their lead to 4-1 after Barkov and Evan Rodrigues had created a two-on-one breakaway chance from their end, and Rodrigues would pass the puck to Barkov, who snap-shot the puck past Skinner's blocker side.
At 6:02 in the third, the Oilers would reduce the Panthers' lead to 4-2 when McDavid wrapped around with the puck behind the net and found Philip Broberg close to the right circle for a snap-shot goal. With 5:17 left in regulation, the Oilers would make it a one-goal game at 4-3 after Ryan McLeod tipped in Brett Kulak's shot from the blue line for his second of the playoffs. With 1:30 remaining in the game, the Oilers decided to pull Skinner for an extra attacker in an attempt to get the equalizing goal. The Panthers, however, would fend off the Oilers' late-period comeback effort to win Game Three, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead and moving one victory away from raising the Stanley Cup on Saturday night in Game Four.
