'We Play the Right Way': Florida Panthers Push the Edmonton Oilers to the Brink

Aleksander Barkov Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers were dead in the water - until they weren't.

But in the end, the Florida Panthers still put the clamps down on Connor McDavid and friends, enough to preserve a 4-3 victory and a 3-0 series stranglehold in the Stanley Cup final.

The Panthers did their best to take the thumping crowd out of the picture early, dumping and chasing to keep Edmonton from establishing any sort of offensive momentum.

Stuart Skinner made some nice stops early for the Oilers, and that vaunted Edmonton power play got a chance to cash in. McDavid missed a great set-up in the slot, while Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stoned Leon Draisaitl on another bang-bang play.

In the end, it was the Panthers ending the first period on a high note thanks to a late Sam Reinhart tip-in goal, assisted by Gustav Forsling.

Warren Foegele got Edmonton back square early in the second on a breakaway wrister, but Florida opened the floodgates after that, scoring three straight in the middle frame. Vladimir Tarasenko's tally was almost identical to Evan Rodrigues' goal in Game 1, with a Panthers teammate winning a race behind the offensive net and feeding the man out front (in this case, it was Eetu Luostarinen doing the good work).

The Oilers made it interesting in the third period when their puck luck changed, and a couple of pucks got by Bobrovsky. Philip Broberg got one under the netminder's glove, while Ryan McLeod tipped a Brett Kulak point shot to pull Edmonton within one with five minutes to go.

But the Cats held on, and the game ended with the puck pinned to the boards in the Florida zone - something that has been a bit of a theme in recent Panthers playoff wins.

What has been most impressive so far is Florida's defensive structure. The Panthers seem to outnumber the Oilers during 5-on-5 play, and when they lose the puck, someone always seems to be there to back them up.

"We play the right way," said defenseman Brandon Montour. "Through our experience the past two years, we've built a game that we've found success with. Obviously there are mistakes in a game - they're a helluva team over there - but we stick as a five-man (unit), each line, each pair, and we find a way."

When you watch the Panthers play, it's hard not to ask why other NHL teams don't play a similar, effective style. After all, a lot of it just seems like hard work, on top of smarts. But if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?

"It comes down to every single guy buying into it," said center Sam Bennett. "Every single guy committed to playing that defense-first system of coming back and supporting each other. That's what you need to do to have success, and it's been a full commitment from the entire group."

A group that has been led up front by captain Aleksander Barkov. After leaving Game 2 early due to a high hit from Draisaitl, Barkov returned for Game 3 looking just as good as ever. Once again, he was a force at both ends, and while coach Paul Maurice said some of Barkov's best games have seen him kept off the scoresheet, this was a game where he did indeed make an offensive contribution on top of his usual shutdown deeds.

"He's so dominant on both sides of the puck," Montour said. "He makes those big-time blocks, and his stick is so long that it's tough to get around him. He's a big, big, big, big part of what we're doing here and we're happy the whole hockey world can see it."

Based on the first three games of the final, the Conn Smythe likely belongs to either Bobrovsky or Barkov. The captain would be the first to hoist the Cup if Florida hangs on to win the series, and that's undoubtedly his goal anyway.

"His gift," said Maurice, "is that he defines everyone else's game: This is what I'm willing to do, this is how I'm going to play the game. So you think of a rookie coming into training camp - and this is my favorite line - they say 'I just have to play my game.' You don't have one. That guy's got a game, so why don't you just play like him? Quiet leadership. He's a unique personality."

Game 4 goes down in Edmonton on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here.