Monday, December 16, 2024

Panthers Prevail Over Oilers Again

     It was a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final as the Florida Panthers outscored the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 at Rogers Place on Monday night. The Panthers defeated the Oilers in a seven-game series back in June for the Stanley Cup. 
     Florida(19-11-2) picked up a shorthanded goal at the 2:42 mark of the first period. Evan Bouchard lost control of the puck at the top of the Panthers zone. Jesper Boqvist carried it through the neutral zone and into the Oilers zone. He snapped a shot from the inner left circle past Stuart Skinner for his fifth goal of the year. 
     Edmonton(18-11-2) tied it up 1-1 with 4:37 left in the first. Bouchard angled a pass from the top of the zone and Connor McDavid centered the puck from the left circle. Zach Hyman released a snap shot from the high slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his ninth goal of the season. 
     The Panthers reclaimed the lead on the power play with 27.1 seconds to go in the period. Sam Reinhart zipped a cross-ice pass from the right wing. Carter Verhaeghe released a forehand shot from above the left circle and Matthew Tkachuk deflected the puck in from the crease area for his 11th goal of the 2024-25 campaign. 
     In the second period, the Oilers evened it up again 2-2 at 6:20. Leon Draisaitl sent a lead pass from his own left circle. McDavid poked the puck ahead from the red line. Hyman skated through the slot area and slipped in a backhand shot from the top of the crease for his 10th tally this year and second goal of the contest. 
     It became 3-2 for Edmonton at 7:03 of the period. Corey Perry fed a pass from the left wing and Connor Brown blasted a one-time slap shot from the low left circle for his 100th career NHL goal. 
     The Oilers made it 4-2 on the power play with 10:36 to go in the second. McDavid sent a diagonal pass from the high slot and Draisaitl powered in a slap shot from the low right circle for his 23rd goal this season. It was the third assist and third point of the game for McDavid. 
     Florida closed it to 4-3 with 2:05 remaining in the period. Anton Lundell made a square pass from the right point. Gustav Forsling shot the puck from the left point and it trickled into the cage for his fifth goal of the campaign. 
     The Cats tied it 4-4 at the 6:53 mark of the third period. Eetu Luostarinen stole the puck in the Oilers zone and pushed it ahead to Lundell. He backhanded it from the low right circle and Niko Mikkola put in his third goal this year on a snap shot from the low left circle. 
     Florida added another tally 30 seconds later for a 5-4 lead. The Oilers gave away the puck on a back pass from their offensive zone. Reinhart gathered the puck on the right wing and eventually lifted a forehand shot from the right goal line for his 20th goal of the season.
     Edmonton evened it up 5-5 at 8:02. Brett Kulak fired a shot from the blue line which went off the end glass. Kasperi Kapanen steered the puck in from the left side of the crease for his fourth goal in 2024-25. 
     The Panthers regained the lead 6-5 with 6:55 left in the third. Mikkola passed from the left point to Sam Bennett in the left corner. He angled a pass to the middle and Verhaeghe put in a snap shot from the slot area for his ninth goal this season. 

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