A little home cooking sure did the Florida Panthers some good.
Hosting their first game of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, Florida jumped all over the Oilers early and often, skating to a resounding 6-1 win in Game 3.
Florida now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
It didn’t take long for the Panthers to send the home fans into an early frenzy.
Right off a faceoff in the Oilers zone, Anton Lundell took the puck behind the net and tried a spinning centering pass.
The puck bounced around the slot and found its way to Brad Marchand, who wired a shot past a down and out Stuart Skinner to give Florida a 1-0 lead just 56 seconds into the game.
Both teams ended up with multiple power plays during the opening 20 minutes, but after three man advantages apiece, neither team could cash in.
That was until Florida’s fourth power play, which came on a goaltender interference penalty against Viktor Arvidsson.
Carter Verhaeghe found some open ice in the right circle and sent a laser of a wrist shot just inside the near post that went over Skinner’s blocker and into the net, giving the Cats a 2-0 lead that they would take into the first intermission.
Thanks to a penalty by Lundell at the end of the first period, Edmonton went on their fourth power play of the game to open the middle frame.
Cory Perry picked up his own rebound after deflecting a shot by Evan Bouchard and quickly fired the puck over Bobrovsky’s pad to get the Oilers on the board.
Just 80 seconds later, Sasha Barkov forced a turnover in Edmonton’s end, and the puck quickly found its way to Sam Reinhart who picked up his first goal (and point) of the Final to put the Cats back up by two.
They weren’t done there.
Sam Bennett scored on a breakaway less than five minutes later, extending Florida’s lead to 4-1 and sending the Amerant Bank Arena crowd into jubilation.
Florida would go on their sixth power play of the game early in the third period, and it led to their fifth goal of the game.
A pretty passing play that saw the puck go from Matthew Tkachuk to Reinhart to Aaron Ekblad ended with the blueliner beating a sprawling Skinner to make it 5-1 Panthers.
The goal would send Skinner to the showers early as Calvin Pickard came in to replace him after the starter allowed five goals on 23 shots.
As the game got later, the penalties came fast and furious.
Evan Rodrigues added a power play goal with under four minutes left to put the Panthers up 6-1 while the Oilers just seemed to be taking chap shots wherever they could.
Edmonton finished the game with 85 penalty minutes while Florida logged 55 of their own.
This series is getting heated, people.
On to Game 4.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Marchand has scored a goal in every game of the Stanley Cup Final so far. He's up to four goals in three Final games.
He’s also racked up eight goals and 18 points through 20 playoff games.
Bennett also has goals in each Final game. He’s scored in four straight overall, but all but two of his 14 playoff goals have come on home ice.
Anton Lundell picked up the primary assist on Marchand’s goal, his third helper over his past two games.
Reinhart’s goal and assist were his first points of the Final.
Nate Schmidt picked up an assist on Verhaeghe's goal, his fifth helper of the Final. He's got at least a point in each game so far.
Evan Rodrigeus extended his point streak to four games after assisting on Verhaeghe’s goal. He has points in three straight and 12 points over his past nine games.
Speaking of Verhaeghe, he’s also picked up points in four straight, with two goals and six points during the streak.
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Photo caption: Jun 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand (63) celebrates scoring against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the first period in game three of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)