Physically & Mentally, Panthers Dominate Oilers In Game Three

SUNRISE, FL – The Florida Panthers delivered a masterclass of a beatdown on Edmonton, physically and mentally, in Game Three. Winning by a score of 6-1, they did much more damage than just what’s on the scoreboard.

Everything clicked for the Cats as soon as this game began. THEY were the team to score an early goal, and never looked back. The one bright spot Edmonton had tonight on the scoreboard was overshadowed in minutes. Defensively, the Panthers put on a clinic, even with penalties galore on both sides of the ice.

Back at home, everything clicked for Florida from the moment the puck dropped. 🐈

They got a big lead early, then got into Edmonton's head late, and the rest is history. 🏒

BIG-TIME WIN FOR THE CATS!#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/W3GkxWGSNk

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) June 10, 2025

Things got bad enough for the Oilers that the third period was more of a backyard brawl than an actual hockey game. Blood was spilled, words were said, and a 2-1 series lead was taken by force from Florida.

This Was A No-Doubter

We can bypass the first two goals for the Panthers. While Brad Marchand’s wrister and Carter Verhaeghe’s power-play snapshot were impressive and gave the Cats a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, the real turning point of the game happened in the second period.

1:40 into the second period, the Oilers had life. Corey Perry sank a snapshot off a deflection from Sergei Bobrovsky. Edmonton is a team used to multi-goal comebacks, so Florida’s response determined if a comeback was possible for the Oilers.

Alas, a minute and 20 seconds later, Edmonton’s comeback bid was cancelled. Off a faceoff win by Aleksander Barkov against Connor McDavid, Reinhart went crossbar and snuck the puck behind Stuart Skinner to give Florida a 3-1 lead.

A Panthers specialty in the postseason is scoring RIGHT AFTER the opponent gets a goal. 🐈

With traffic around the net, Sam Reinhart lands a wrister to keep a two-goal lead for Florida.#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/KaJbd2hC9T

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) June 10, 2025

Speaking of Skinner, he did not have a good game today. Granted, as mentioned before, this was a penalty-ridden game. Including all the brawls at the end, 35 PENALTIES WERE ASSESSED – 14 on Florida and 21 on Edmonton. So yeah, they left him out to dry a few times tonight.

That included a 2-0 breakaway for Florida, with Sam Bennett cooking Skinner for another goal. The icing on the cake was in the third, as Skinner was called for a delay of game penalty for launching the puck over the glass. Right after, Aaron Ekblad scored goal #5 for the Cats. That was it for Skinner, as he was pulled in favor of Calvin Pickard.

The Job Is Not Done

All in all, the Panthers were the better team tonight, physically & mentally.

What’s going to matter for Florida is if they can bring this energy to Game Four. Edmonton will play angry, but if Florida can play half as good as they did tonight, that could be enough to win.

We will see. Game Four is set for Thursday, June 12th at 8pm.