EDMONTON, Alberta — With Aleksander Barkov leading the offense and Sergei Bobrovsky back on top form in goal, the Florida Panthers are on the brink of winning the Stanley Cup.
Barkov had an assist and another goal, Bobrovsky was dominant with 32 saves and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3 of the Cup final on Thursday night.
They have a chance to win their first title in franchise history in Game 4 on Saturday night in Edmonton.
“We know it’s definitely going to be our toughest game,” Barkov said. “We’re not taking anything for granted. We’re taking every single day for granted. Whether it’s one period, one shift, we’re taking every single day for granted. That’s what we’ve been doing all year.”
Florida took advantage of an Edmonton turnover and denied Connor McDavid a goal to take another step toward the pinnacle of hockey.
The Oilers made a comeback in the final minutes and got within one point, but fell short.
Much earlier, Barkov stole an Evan Bouchard pass just before Sam Reinhart’s goal, goaltender Stuart Skinner dropped the puck off Vladimir Tarasenko and Darnell Nurse let go of the puck from Sam Bennett.
Barkov produced a signature moment by smashing through the defense and beating Skinner on a breakaway, briefly silencing an excited crowd at the first Stanley Cup Final game in Edmonton with fans in attendance since 2006.
To end their Canada Cup drought, the Oilers will need to pull off a comeback victory, something that has been accomplished just four times in NHL playoff history and once in a finals game dating back to 1942.
The last time a Canadian-based team won the championship was in 1993, when Montreal took the title, just months before the Panthers’ first season began.
Prior to this series, they were 1-8 in finals games.
With the help of Barkov and Bobrovsky, Florida has completely turned that scenario around.
It’s fair to say the two leading candidates to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP were the two most productive players on the ice in Game 3. That includes Barkov, who was taken out of Game 2 on Monday night by a high hit from Leon Draisteil.
“From the beginning, our competitive spirit, our will and our desire to win this game was strong,” Bennett said. “Everybody fought hard, all the way down to the goalie. It was good to see the effort. Either they have the will or they don’t. We have 23 will-dogs on our team. Either they have the will or they don’t.”
Another big factor in how the Panthers got there was winger Matthew Tkachuk, who provided some big assists and helped increase the pressure on Edmonton.
The Oilers succumbed to that and, although they were the better team overall, they couldn’t overcome some untimely mistakes and lost the game.
Skinner allowed four goals on 23 shots and Connor Brown, Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod scored, while McDavid looked frustrated and out of form for the first time in the playoffs.
Doing so against elite opponents — playing defense so tight that it forces opponents to doubt their scoring ability — is a big part of the Panthers’ style and a big reason they’re on the league’s biggest stage, keeping drinks on ice for a championship celebration 2,500 miles from home.
A tough win over Edmonton on Thursday night showed they were not adversely affected by waiting to fly from South Florida to Alberta – a decision that was called into question hours later on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before kickoff, when their flight was delayed by a storm.
The Panthers didn’t seem to be affected by jet lag, capitalizing on their scoring opportunities and scoring when it mattered most.
“Just staying in the moment,” Bobrovsky said.
