June 10 (UPI) -- Sergei Bobrovsky was bulletproof glass between the pipes, while the Florida Panthers offense revved up for six scores to dominate the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe each logged a goal and assist in the 6-1 triumph at Amerant Bank Arena. Fellow Panthers forwards Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett and defenseman Aaron Ekblad also scored in a violent game that grew in animosity as the clock ticked down.
When it ended, players had been assessed 140 combined penalty minutes, 85 of which were against the Oilers. Six players -- three on each side -- received misconduct penalties out of the 35 total penalties recorded. Fights seemed to break out after almost every whistle in much of the third period.
The 140 penalty minutes were the fourth most in a Stanley Cup Final game in NHL history. Topping the list was a 1986 Game 4 between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens at 176 combined minutes.
Related
Speaking to reporters after his team's loss Monday night, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said "The game was out of hand. I don't think we would have acted or played like that had the game been a one-goal or two-goal game.
"I think it was boys being boys. Just trying to make investments for the next game."
Bobrovsky made 32 saves in the decisive victory, which gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven-game series. The Oilers fell in Game 2 in overtime Friday in Edmonton.
The Panthers took advantage of Edmonton's lack of discipline by scoring three times off power plays. Florida had 11 power plays in the game.
"At the end of the day, you've got to be smart in a game like this and I thought our team did that," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who logged an assist, said on the TNT broadcast. "We really protected each other well."
The Panthers started the scoring just 56 minutes into Game 3 when Marchand beat Stuart Skinner with a wrist shot. Anton Lundell started that play by carrying the puck behind the Oilers net.
He then turned the opposite direction and sent a pass in front of the net, which went off fellow forward Eetu Luostarinen and bounced around until it found Marchand.
Marchand finished the play by rifling a shot into the right side of the net for his fourth goal of the series.
The Panthers doubled their lead off a power play with about 2:15 remaining in that period.
Defenseman Nate Schmidt held the puck on the right flank before feeding Rodrigues during that sequence. Rodrigues then slid a pass to Verhaeghe inside the left circle. The Panthers forward pulled the puck back before unleashing a sizzler between the upper left corner of the net and Skinner's right shoulder.
The Oilers cut into the deficit when forward Corey Perry scored off a power play 1:40 into the second period, but the Panthers answered 1:20 later, with Reinhart beating Skinner for a 3-1 edge.
The Oilers, who held a shot advantage for the majority of the night, then lost their composure, triggering scrums and drawing repeated penalties over the final two periods.
Luostarinen fed the puck to Bennett for a breakaway less than 4:30 later. Bennett delivered two crushing hits before pealing back and ripping up the ice. He pulled in the Luostarinen feed, swapping the puck between his backhand and forehand and eventually shoveled a shot by Skinner.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad beat Skinner for a fifth Panthers score off a power play 3:27 into the third period. The Oilers pulled Skinner after that goal and replaced him with Calvin Pickard.
Rodrigues beat Pickard for the Panthers' third power-play score about four minutes later.
The Oilers outshot the Panthers 33-31, but logged a dozen giveaways, compared to seven for their foes.
The Panthers (2-1) will host the Oilers (1-2) in Game 4 at 8 p.m. EDT Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena. Game 5 will be Saturday in Edmonton.
