The Florida Panthers took a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup final on Thursday night, hanging on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3.
The Oilers faced a steep climb to get back into the game in the third period down 4-1, but they almost pulled it off. Philip Broberg scored about six minutes into the period while Ryan McLeod redirected one past Sergei Bobrovsky at the 14:43 mark to amp up the pressure on Florida.
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Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
As Edmonton added the sixth man onto the ice, they couldn’t get another puck past “Bob.” Florida moved one win away from capturing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Florida was first on the board at the 18:58 mark in the first period with a Sam Reinhart goal – his ninth of the postseason. Oilers winger Warren Foegele tied the game early in the period, but a few mistakes from Edmonton allowed Florida to take advantage.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner couldn’t control the puck in his own zone and Panthers winger Vladamir Tarasenko netted the go-ahead score. The Panthers were far from finished at that point.
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Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal against the Edmonton Oilers with Evan Rodrigues (17) during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Sam Bennett put one past Skinner at 12:57 and Aleksander Barkov got a bit of a revenge goal on the Oilers after leaving Game 2 following a questionable high hit from Leon Draisaitl.
Despite allowing three goals, Bobrovsky finished with 32 saves to inch the Panthers to glory. Skinner had 19 saves in the game.
Oilers star Connor McDavid got into the points column with an assist on the Broberg and McLeod goals, but he was still held goal-less.
Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) is scored on by the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
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Game 4 – and the potential sweep for the Panthers – will begin on Saturday night.
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