Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist, leading the host Florida Panthers to a 6-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
The win gives the Panthers a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series, with Game 4 set for Thursday (5 p.m. PST), also in Florida.
Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad also scored for the defending-champion Panthers, with Eetu Luostarinen adding two assists.
Corey Perry scored for the Oilers.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves to get the goaltending win; Stuart Skinner made 18 saves on 23 shots before being replaced by Calvin Pickard, who made seven saves.
SAM BENNETT WITH THE MOVES FOR THE BUDDIES!!!!
Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥” x - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers)
Marchand opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the first period with his eighth goal of the playoffs, pouncing on a loose puck in the slot and firing a shot past Skinner.
Verhaeghe made it 2-0 at 17:45, scoring his seventh of the post-season on a power-play, beating Skinner with a perfect shot high to the blocker side.
Perry pulled the Oilers back within 2-1, also on the power play, with his ninth goal at 1:40 of the second, knocking a rebound past Bobrovsky. Perry joined Igor Larionov (2002) as Mark Recchi (2011) as the only 40+ year-olds to score in back-to-back games in the Final.
Just 80 seconds later, Reinhart restored FloridaÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s two-goal advantage, converting a feed from Verhaeghe and beating Skinner from the left-wing faceoff circle. Reinhart has five goals in the post-season.
Bennett made it 4-1 at 7:26, scoring his 14th of the playoffs on a breakaway, beating Skinner after a nifty deke.
Edmonton held a 24-19 shots on goal advantage after two periods.
Ekblad made it 5-1 on the power play at 3:27 of third, taking a nice behind-the-back pass from Reinhart and beating Skinner, who had received a delay-of-game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass. After the goal, Skinner was pulled and replaced by Pickard.
With a two-man advantage, Rodrigues made it 6-1 ripping a blocker-side shot past Pickard with 3:50 to play.
NOTES: Heading into the game, when a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 held an all-time series record of 23-7 (.767). Teams that win Game 3 of any best-of-7 series in that scenario have gone on to win the series 66.3 percent of the time (244-124)Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥¦ Forward A.J. Greer returned to the lineup for the Panthers after missing the first two Final games because of an undisclosed injuryÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥¦ Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 42 saves in both Games 1 and 2 to become the first goalie to have back-to-back games with at least 40 saves to open a Cup FinalÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥¦ FloridaÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s Jonah Gadjovich and EdmontonÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s Darnell Nurse engaged in a spirited scrap with 10:29 to play.
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