The Florida Panthers overwhelmed the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-1 rout Monday night, reclaiming control of the Stanley Cup Final and taking a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 set for Thursday in Sunrise.
Unlike the nail-biters that defined the first two games of the series, Florida set the tone immediately and never let up. Brad Marchand opened the scoring just 56 seconds into regulation — the fastest goal by a Panther in Stanley Cup Final history — igniting a relentless offensive performance at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Panthers’ depth was on full display, with goals from Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Evan Rodrigues. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky turned in a sharp performance, stopping 31 of 32 shots and shutting down Edmonton at even strength.
Edmonton’s lone response came early in the second period with a power-play goal from Corey Perry, cutting Florida’s lead to 2-1. But the Panthers stormed back, netting four unanswered goals and forcing the Oilers to pull goaltender Stuart Skinner after he allowed five goals on 23 shots.
Tensions boiled over in the third, when a cross-check by Edmonton’s Trent Frederic on Bennett sparked a full-scale melee. Florida’s Jonah Gadjovich and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse headlined the ensuing fight, part of a sequence that saw six players ejected. Another Oiler, Evander Kane, was tossed later for slashing Verhaeghe while he was down.
Marchand’s goal marked his eighth of the playoffs and his fourth of the series. At 37, he became the oldest player in NHL history to score in each of the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final, breaking a 52-year-old record held by Frank Mahovlich.
Florida’s offensive barrage included two power-play goals in the third period — one from Ekblad and another from Rodrigues — solidifying the blowout and putting the Panthers just two wins away from their first championship.
