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Brad Marchand again among winners, losers from Panthers' commanding 6-1 win over Oilers in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final
The ice in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers was heavily tilted towards the home team. Florida struck just 56 seconds into the game and never looked back on its way to a 6-1 victory and 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Two first period goals from the Panthers added to a prominent trend — 10 first-period goals have been scored between the two teams in the first three games, six by the Panthers. Advertisement Not as nerve-racking as either Game 1 or 2, but Game 3 was still action packed. Florida won battles along the boards, dictated pace even though they were outshot, and smothered Edmonton defensively. Every time the Oilers tried to push back, they were met with more goals against. Meanwhile, the Oilers completely lost control. Neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl reached the scoresheet for the first time in over six months, and the team completely unraveled as the game went on. Multiple post-whistle scrums, careless penalties, and a game misconduct assessed to Evander Kane were among the Oilers lowlights. It was frustration being let out on full display — and Florida completely embarrassed Edmonton. The Panthers remained disciplined even as the Oilers tried to bait them into penalties. After the game, Matthew Tkachuk summed it up to the NHL on TNT crew saying, 'We have bigger goals. We can deal with that next year, I guess.' Related: Key takeaways from Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final after Oilers lose cool in 6-1 loss to Panthers Winner – Brad Marchand – Panthers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images After Brad Marchand's Game 2 heroics, he doubled down by scoring in Game 3. The catch — he scored 56 seconds into the game, which meant he had scored three straight goals for the Panthers, going back to the second period of Game 2. It was also his 11th career goal in the Stanley Cup Final. At 37, Marchand is the oldest player to score goals in each of the first three games of any Stanley Cup Final, and he's tied for the series lead with four. Marchand's goal Monday marked the second straight game when Edmonton gave up the first goal, after scoring first in their previous nine postseason games. Loser – Edmonton Oilers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Game 3 was a deflating loss for the Oilers. Down big in the third, the Oilers completely unraveled, turning to cheap shots and scrums instead of playing hockey. Evander Kane was ejected for slashing Carter Verhaeghe in the face, multiple players racked up misconducts, and the bench thinned out as emotions boiled over. For a Stanley Cup Final game — it was honestly embarrassing. The Oilers let the Panthers get into their heads and then get the best of them, and instead of responding with fight, they responded by fighting, which is not their DNA. Edmonton's parade to the box featured 85 penalty minutes, third most all-time in a Stanley Cup Final game. Winner – Sam Bennett – Panthers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Sam Bennett continued his campaign to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, scoring his League-leading 14th goal in the postseason. His breakaway goal in the second period was the knockout punch for the Panthers, and Bennett has also now scored in all three games of this Stanley Cup Final. The gritty center also got underneath Edmonton's skin all night and finished with a team-high six hits ebfore a third-period altercation with Trent Frederic landed him a misconduct penalty and ended his night early. Just another typical night at the office for Bennett. Advertisement Related: Panthers coach fires witty free-agency salvo after epic Sam Bennett shift in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final Winner – Sergei Bobrovsky – Panthers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Sergei Bobrovsky was locked in all game, stopping 32 of 33 shots in Game 3. He finished with a .970 save percentage and made key saves early in the game when it was still close. While the Oilers lost their cool, Bobrovsky kept his — staying solid for all 60 minutes, beaten only on a Corey Perry power-play putback early in the second period. He continues to be the backbone of this Panthers team, and they now have control of the series. Loser – Stuart Skinner – Oilers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Stuart Skinner will definitely want to forget his performance in Game 3. He allowed five goals on 23 shots and was pulled after 43:27, finishing with a brutal .783 save percentage. Beaten high on the short side multiple times and left hanging by his teammates, Skinner never looked ready for Game 3. His forgettable night began when he was pulled way out of position on Marchand's game-opening goal, and didn;t get much better from there. Winner – Power Play – Panthers Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Florida's special teams took advantage in Game 3, scoring three power-play goals and continuing to punish Edmonton's lack of discipline. That brings the Panthers to five power-play goals in the series. They may have had 11 chances in the, but scoring three times still speaks volumes in a game like this, it's not about percentage, it's about the number of goals. It was also huge for the Panthers to get untracked on the power play on home ice. They entered the game just 1-for-28 on the power play at Amerant Bank Arena. Advertisement Related Headlines
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18-04-2025
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D-Backs 6, Marlins 2: Power Up Series Win
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Coming into this season, one of the projected strengths of the D-Backs was both the topline starters as well as the team's depth in the bullpen and rotation. They were both on display this afternoon in Miami as Brandon Pfaadt continued a strong start to his second full season in the majors and nearly extended a streak of five consecutive 'quality starts' by Arizona starters to six. Ironically of course, Pfaadt was the one who began the streak with a sparkling six innings of shutout baseball against the Orioles last Wednesday so it's only fitting for him to also end that same streak. Even still, while it wasn't the prettiest or most stylish start for the righty, he pitched well enough to earn the win and put his team in an excellent place to get the win. And it's a welcome sign that the rotation is starting to round into form as we enter the third week of the season - even if the very idea of a 'quality start' may need reexamining. But that reexamination may need its own article! Advertisement For a team whose offense was projected to take a step back after the loss of Joc Pederson and Christian Walker, you certainly could be fooled through the first three weeks of the season. Last season, the D-Backs scored the most runs in the both the National League and the majors (by a significant margin) by slugging their way to that mark. But even with the acquisition of Josh Naylor and an improved batting stance from Corbin Carroll, it was widely expected that the offense would regress slightly, if for no other reason than a normal regression to the mean. Instead, once again, it was the Arizona offense that lead the way with a slugging attack against first-rounder Max Meyer in just his 17th big league start. And once again, it was Naylor who acted as a spark plug for the offense, taking the second pitch he saw in the game to straightaway center for the first of three solo homers for the Snakes and four on the night. It was an impressive display of power for a team that currently sits up in the upper third for home run totals and at the very top for slugging percentage in the National League in the opening weeks of the season. Unsurprisingly, Corbin Carroll was also an integral part of the scoring as he continued his torrid beginning of the season with an RBI single in the top half of the fifth that plated Gabriel Moreno. Sadly, Alek Thomas mistakenly thought the cutoff throw from the outfield would go into second rather than third and was cut down to curtail any additional scoring in the inning. But have no fear dear reader, the power would not stop for long as Pavin Smith and Tim Tawa would follow suit with solo homers, including the latter's first major league home run in the sixth and seventh innings respectively. And finally, Lourdes Gurriel Jr would round off the excellent offensive night for Arizona with an absolute blast to the left field bleachers to give us our final score. Outside of the very fun offensive highlights, it's worth taking another moment of appreciation for Pfaadt as he continues to mature in front of our very eyes. On a night when he seemingly did not have his best command, walking two and surrendering five hits across 5.2 IP, he still managed to find another gear when he needed it. He had just one clean inning on the outing, but held the Marlins to a single run on Matt Mervis' solo homer on his birthday that came on a curveball which was closer to the ground than the strike zone. While there are some warning signs flashing for Pfaadt in the early going, including a terrifyingly large disagreement between his expected ERA of 5.87 and his actual ERA of 3.04, we can only hope that it's a function of a small sample size rather than something mechanical or otherwise. After Pfaadt exited in the sixth, the quartet of Jalen Beeks, Shelby Miller (whose resurgence has been both heartwarming and needed), AJ Puk, and Justin Martinez mostly quieted the Marlins offense and Miami crowd over the final frames. The only nervy moment came in the eighth when Puk allowed consecutive hits to Eric Wagaman and Otto Lopez that brought the Marlins within another run. Thankfully, Puk quickly snuffed out the rally by bouncing back with a strikeout and fly ball to the warning track to limit the damage. Advertisement This is the kind of complete team win that has become so refreshing in the early days of this season. It didn't depend on a single player stepping up or even one part of the team (bullpen, starter, offense) outshining another. Instead, it highlighted excellent performances from the stars like Naylor or Martinez alongside the less-heralded like Smith. If this is the kind of team performance we can expect moving forward, this season truly could be special. Of course, that requires the ability to execute like they did tonight across the entire marathon that constitutes the contemporary baseball season. Now the team will get their chance for a second three-game sweep in as many years against a beleaguered Marlins team that is still deep in the throes of their most recent rebuild. I certainly won't be betting against them. More from
