The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers are in the middle of a heavyweight brawl in the Stanley Cup Final. The rematch of the seven-game classic in 2024 is shaping up to be a barnburner once again, as the two squads traded a pair of overtime wins in the first two games in Edmonton.
Now, the series shifts back to Florida for a pivotal Game 3 that will determine which team has control heading into Game 4. If the first two games are any indication, hockey fans are in for another epic on Monday night. The players know that too, and they know how high the level of play is between the two sides in this series.
“It’s one of those heavyweight tilts,” Oilers forward Adam Henrique said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “You land a punch, you take a punch. It’s back and forth. It’s all of that in one. I’m sure everybody is excited watching, and it’s a lot of fun being out there playing too.”
Both games have been back and forth affairs that are impossible to predict until the very end. The Panthers led Game 1 3-1 in the second period before the Oilers stormed back to force overtime, eventually winning on a Leon Draisaitl goal at the end of the first overtime.
In Game 2, the two teams combined for five goals in the first period before the scoring slowed down. With the Panthers leading 4-3 late in regulation, Corey Perry found the back of the net with just 17 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. After some stellar goaltending in the first overtime, Brad Marchand found himself on a breakaway and got the puck by Stuart Skinner to even the series.
The Oilers will certainly want to get ahead of the Panthers for a few reasons. It feels that the longer the series goes, the more it favors Florida. Not only did the defending champs beat the Oilers in a hard-fought Game 7 in the Cup Final last season, but Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has never lost in a Game 7 at any of his stops. That makes Monday’s Game 3 pivotal for the Oilers if they want to get revenge and win the championship.
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