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Oilers' Stuart Skinner pulled from Game 3 amid disastrous night vs. Panthers

Oilers' Stuart Skinner pulled from Game 3 amid disastrous night vs. Panthers

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The post Oilers' Stuart Skinner pulled from Game 3 amid disastrous night vs. Panthers appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Edmonton Oilers had some life entering Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. They played two extremely close games against the Florida Panthers. And they were one goal away from a 2-0 series lead. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball hard in Game 3 on Monday. Goalie Stuart Skinner was at the forefront of this disastrous performance.
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Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots against the Panthers. Edmonton did not support him at all, either, as they scored just once. In the end, Skinner was pulled from Game 3. Veteran backup Calvin Pickard took the crease to finish out the remainder of this contest.
Pickard played well enough in Game 3 to stop the bleeding. However, he did not spark the team toward a miraculous victory. The Panthers won Game 3 by a score of 6-1 after they scored a power-play goal on Pickard in the third. The Oilers are down 2-1 in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, and they are walking a razor's edge the rest of this series.
Oilers walking fine line with Panthers loss in Game 3
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The Oilers fell behind the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was an unfortunate spot to be in early on. But Edmonton remained composed, and they rattled off four wins to claim the series. This may not be the case in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
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The Oilers lost their cool against the Panthers on Monday night. It's a highly emotional series, to this is understandable to an extent. However, now that Florida knows they can get in Edmonton's head, the Oilers must tread carefully the rest of this series.
The Oilers are two games from having their season end in the ultimate heartbreak. Last season was a crushing loss without question. Having that fate repeat itself this year may go beyond crushing for this group. Let's see how the team responds in Game 4 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Related: Panthers fans throw rats on ice after wild 5-1 win vs. Oilers
Related: Kris Knoblauch's reaction to Oilers' 3rd period breakdown vs. Panthers

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Some things to worry about before the Edmonton Oilers play Game 6
Some things to worry about before the Edmonton Oilers play Game 6

Yahoo

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Some things to worry about before the Edmonton Oilers play Game 6

This comeback team needs another one. The biggest of their lives, in fact. Trailing 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final after their second dismal outing in three games, the Edmonton Oilers will have to summon every ounce of fight they have left, get up off the deck, and force a Game 7. Will they? The Panthers were first to every puck and won every battle Saturday against an Oilers team that seemed overwhelmed, unable to find an answer for wave after wave of Florida attack. Letting the Oilers come back from 3-0 down on the road in Game 4 should have broken the Panthers. It should have signalled a shift in momentum. Playoff defeats don't get more devastating than that. Instead, it's starting to look like that was Edmonton's last gasp, a once-in-a-century comeback sandwiched in between 6-1 and 5-2 losses. It doesn't look good. But the Oilers have 14 wins in the playoffs, eight of which have been comebacks. It's a team that rebounded from 0-2 down in the Los Angeles series and became the first road team in 106 years to win a Stanley Cup Final game after trailing 3-0. You're out of your mind if you don't think they can't come back and win it all. Playing a stinker, giving everyone very good reason to believe they're done, and then coming back to silence the doubters is what they do. Whether they can do it against one of the best teams of the last 30 years is the question. Some other things to worry about before Game 6: • At no other point in the series did it look like the Oilers were going to lose, but the way they withered and wilted in Game 5, on the heels of a 6-1 defeat in Game 3 and falling behind 3-0 in the first period of Game 4, suggests the Panthers are pulling away. Is Florida just the better team? You can't go there yet. There is still a Game 6 to be played, but things are trending in the wrong direction. • The slow start thing is inexcusable. This is the Stanley Cup Final, you have to be ready to go, and at the first intermission of the last three games Edmonton trailed 2-0, 3-0 and 2-0. Anyone can play with urgency when the situation is desperate, but champions manufacture that urgency at the opening faceoff. • Did the Oilers come out as timidly as they did in Game 5 because they were afraid of taking more early penalties? • Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand have been better than Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and it's tipping the balance. Bennett and Marchand have 11 goals in the series while Draisaitl (four) and McDavid (one) have five. Marchand and Bennet are plus 11 in the series, McDavid and Draisaitl are minus six. • It's a shame if Corey Perry loses yet another Stanley Cup Final. He shows up and plays hard every night. That a 40-year-old is second on the team in playoff goals isn't a good look on everyone else. • The Oilers miss Zach Hyman big time. They need somebody who can score the kind of goals that Perry does, through tough work around the front of the net. The power play — 4-for-23 (17.3 per cent) in the Final isn't getting the job done and could use his help. • Did practising on a pair of off-days between Game 3 and 4 do more harm than good? Rest is a weapon in the playoffs and taking one of those days off might have been wise. After a schedule of Game 3, practice day, practice day, Game 4, travel day, Game 5, the Oilers looked tired on Saturday. • The Oilers like to think they're deep, but Florida's depth is out of this world. Florida's third line (Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand) has 55 points in the playoffs. Edmonton's third line has 13. • And where would two of Edmonton's top six wingers from Saturday, Connor Brown and Vasily Podkolzin fit in Florida's top six of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk? • It doesn't matter who the Oilers start in goal in Game 6. Sergei Bobrovsky is better. And Edmonton's team defence and puck management isn't helping. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard gave up 14 goals in the last three games and none of them were especially weak. • If Stuart Skinner isn't going to be your Stanley Cup-winning goalie, where are the Oilers going to find room under the cap to spend another $5 or $6 million to shore up that position next year • Did somebody say salary cap? When McDavid and Evan Bouchard get paid, it's going to be even tougher for the Oilers to build the kind of depth Florida has. • If the Panthers close this out for three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final and back-to-back wins, they will go down, rightfully so, as one of the best teams in the salary cap era. What, then, will the Oilers go down as? E-mail: rtychkowski@ Nightmare on Oilers Street as Panthers plunge a dagger into Edmonton Edmonton Oilers have no answers for Stanley Cup snipers Bennett, Marchand You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun

Edmonton Oilers deal with goalie debate. Florida Panthers, 1 win from 2nd-straight Stanley Cup, have Bobrovsky
Edmonton Oilers deal with goalie debate. Florida Panthers, 1 win from 2nd-straight Stanley Cup, have Bobrovsky

CBS News

timean hour ago

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Edmonton Oilers deal with goalie debate. Florida Panthers, 1 win from 2nd-straight Stanley Cup, have Bobrovsky

When the Edmonton Oilers face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers, either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will lead them on to the ice as their starting goaltender. The defending champion Panthers have no such debate. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky has started 63 consecutive playoff games going back to early in the playoffs in 2023, and he is a big reason they are on the cusp of winning a second consecutive title. Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) stands on the ice before the start of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers Monday, June 9, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. Lynne Sladky / AP "He puts so much time into his focus and his ability and then the experience that he has, so there's a calmness that comes with Sergei that's spread throughout the team," coach Paul Maurice said Sunday. "He's the incredible, elite player that gets totally underappreciated: taken for granted, I guess, by us because he's so consistent with his game." Bobrovsky has stopped 165 of the 181 shots on net during the final, allowing 16 goals with a save percentage of .912. Skinner and Pickard have combined to stop 141 of 163, allowing 22 with respective save percentages of .860 and .878. Many of those goals scored by Florida and allowed by Edmonton had more to do with the skaters in front of whoever is in the crease, hence a rotating door at hockey's most important position in the final. Skinner started the first four, Pickard entered Game 4 and won in relief, then lost Game 5. Skinner will probably get the nod in Game 6, but coach Kris Knoblauch is not saying which way he's leaning. "It's not an easy decision," Knoblauch said. "We've got two goalies that have shown that they can play extremely well, win hockey games and we feel that no matter who we choose, they can win the game." That confidence is even stronger around the Panthers, given how steady Bobrovsky has been. Even though Game 5 turned into a rout, Maurice credited the goalie known as "Bob" for a handful of important early saves to make it possible. It is something Bobrovsky has done all series, all playoffs and all season for a long time. "He keeps us in the game so many times at key moments and is making huge saves," top defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "He always gives us a chance to win every night. He's been amazing for us." Bobrovsky at 36 is adored by teammates. Aaron Ekblad, who has played with him for six seasons, called him simply the best. "We love him," Ekblad said. "There's no doubt about it." That admiration has been earned. Bobrovsky has developed a reputation for his tireless work on dry land and the practice habits on the ice that have translated into results: a lot of winning. Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky looks on during a stoppage in play during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton, on Friday, June 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) DARRYL DYCK / AP It's no coincidence the Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Bobrovsky took over for Alex Lyon three games into the first round in 2023. "He just sticks kind of to the same routine, and his preparation is unlike anything I've ever seen while being in this league," forward Evan Rodrigues said. "It almost becomes routine some of the incredible saves he makes." There is nothing routine about how the Oilers' goaltending has developed over the course of the final. Skinner and Pickard have each been hung out to dry by turnovers, mistakes and missed coverages. They have also made some unexpected stops along the way to keep this series going. "They've both been amazing," veteran winger Corey Perry said. "It doesn't matter who's in the net or who's back there. We have trust in both of them." Maurice, who has coached more games in the NHL than anyone but nine-time Stanley Cup champion Scotty Bowman, has made it clear he knows nothing about goaltending and has no interest in learning about it. But he has defended all the goaltenders in this final between "two really powerful offensive teams" with plenty of star power. Still, Bobrovsky has the ability to swing it in Florida's direction with another of the performances his team has come to expect from him. "His ability to focus is trained — maybe it's a talent," Maurice said. "If one gets by him that he doesn't like, it has nothing to do with what's going to happen next."

Getting better with age: Marchand scores twice in Florida Panthers' Game 5 win over Edmonton Oilers
Getting better with age: Marchand scores twice in Florida Panthers' Game 5 win over Edmonton Oilers

CBS News

timean hour ago

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Getting better with age: Marchand scores twice in Florida Panthers' Game 5 win over Edmonton Oilers

At 37, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand might not only be getting better with age in the 14 years since winning his first and only Stanley Cup title. Some might even suggest he's still got his looks, too, as Marchand joked on Saturday night. "Man, that guy's good looking," Marchand said with a laugh when asked what the 23-year-old version of himself might have to say in reflecting back to winning the Cup in his second NHL season with the Boston Bruins in 2011. Looks aside, what's definitely not changed is Marchand's scoring touch, which has placed him in elite company in Stanley Cup Final lore. Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand (63) scores against Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard (30) during the first period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) JASON FRANSON / AP The former Bruins captain, acquired by Florida at the NHL trade deadline in March, scored twice, including being credited with the winner, in a 5-2 victory over Edmonton to give the Panthers a 3-2 edge in their Cup final series. The series shifts to Florida on Tuesday night. "Like I've said plenty of times, trying to enjoy the moment. It's a pretty special group to be a part of, and I'm having a lot of fun," said Marchand, who has scored 10 times this postseason, six in the final. "It's just how it plays out sometimes. Sometimes you get bounces. Sometimes you don't." Lucky bounces had little to do with Marchand's goals on Saturday night, with both coming with him putting his head down, out-muscling defenders and driving to the net. Marchand opened the scoring 9:12 in by pouncing on a loose puck off a center-ice faceoff, pushing past defender Mattias Ekholm and sneaking the puck through the legs of goalie Calvin Pickard. Marchand then made it 3-0 some five minutes into the third period by driving up the left wing, jumping by Jake Walman, and backhanding a shot under Pickard for what stood as the decisive goal. He became the 18th player — and oldest — to score six times in one final series, and first since Edmonton's Esa Tikkanen scored that many in 1988. And Marchand, who scored five times in Boston's 2011 Cup-winning final series over Vancouver, joined Mario Lemieux in becoming just the second player over the past 50 years to score five or more times in multiple Cup finals. It also marked his 16th career playoff game-winning goal, moving Marchand into a tie for 10th on the NHL list with Jaromir Jagr and Patrick Marleau. Florida Panthers' Anton Lundell (15) and Brad Marchand (63) celebrate after a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, June 14, 2025. ( Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) JASON FRANSON / AP "He's amazing. He's been a leader for us," goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said of Marchand. "He has been scoring big goals for us, and tonight he made a hell of an effort by himself." Teammate Anton Lundell was in awe in helping set up Marchand's opening goal by winning the faceoff. "That's just him. He just has that passion, which you saw today," Lundell said. "He decided he wanted to go there and be the difference maker, and he did that. Unbelievable player, and we're all pretty amazed by him." The Panthers maintained their road dominance by improving to 10-3 away from Florida to match the 2019 St. Louis Blues' record for most road wins in one postseason. Sam Bennett scored his team-leading 15th goal — and 13th on the road — of the playoffs, while Bobrovsky made 19 saves as the Panthers essentially suffocated the high-scoring Oilers. The win came two days after Florida blew a 3-0 lead in a 5-4 overtime loss in Game 4. And it puts the Panthers in position to join Tampa Bay (2020 and '21) as the only two teams to repeat as champions in the 2000s. Marchand is making his fourth Cup final appearance after Boston lost to St. Louis in 2019 and Chicago in 2013. "I'm not there yet," he said, when asked of the prospect of winning a second title. "It's about process. That's all we're going to worry about, process, structure. So we'll look at a few things and get prepared."

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