SUNRISE, Fla. — Five years from now, if the Florida Panthers have two Stanley Cup rings after this 2024-25 series while the Edmonton Oilers have zero, there are a lot of things that nobody is going to remember.
They won’t remember whose “too many men” infraction got called and whose the referees turned a blind eye to, and they won’t be talking about an Anton Lundell dive, a Sergei Bobrovsky sell job or another edition of Matthew Tkachuk talking tough while hanging on to the back of a linesman’s jersey.
None of that stuff matters, long term.
All we’ll remember is the fact that the Edmonton Oilers could not get a handle on the multiple ways the Florida Panthers have of beating you, and in a 6-1 win here Monday, the Panthers crushed Edmonton on both the scoreboard and the psychological side of the game.
“You look at some of the calls, some of them are frustrating,” began Evander Kane, who took two minor penalties when the game was in the balance, and another dozen minutes when it wasn’t. “They seem to get away with more than we do. It’s tough to find the line.
“They’re doing just as much stuff as we are … there seems to be a little more attention paid to our group (by the officials).”
As we used to say about Corey Perry in his younger days, somehow the Panthers have acquired an element of invisibility when it comes to the referees. It’s like, if dogs are colour blind, can zebras only see certain colours as well?
They’re masters at the art of instigating in private, yet receiving a shot in a very public way. There’s a thesis paper to be done on this, so adept are the Panthers at this area of the game.
“The referees,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “I think they did an outstanding job tonight, and they even caught the too many men penalty in the first period — which was too many men. They caught us there.
“I just wish they had been calling the game in Game 2 in overtime.”
So, do you see where the Panthers have the Oilers?
Edmonton is more worried about the referees right now than they are about the Panthers. More concerned about the bad calls than their own bad clears.
Three games into this Final, the Panthers have the Oilers exactly where they want them.
What’s the message from Connor McDavid?
“We’ve got to find a way to win a game. That’s it. That’s the only message,” he said, with his team now trailing the series 2-1. “We came for a split. Gotta get it Thursday.”
The Oilers got played by a smarter, more savvy team in Game 3. One that knows how to win in games like this one, a skill the Oilers have yet to acquire.
“We never got to our game,:” McDavid lamented. “I don’t think our best has shown up all series long, but it’s coming.”
The Oilers took four minor penalties in the first period alone, and gave the Panthers seven more power-play opportunities once the game was out of hand.
“When you get into garbage time, those things happen. And I don’t mind when those things happen,” McDavid said of the third-period shenanigans. “That’s what good teams do — fight your way out of the rink. I don’t mind that in garbage time.”
The other thing good teams do?
They find their ‘A’ game when it’s needed most. That would be in Game 4 Thursday, the pivotal game around which this Cup Final will swing.
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“We’re disappointed, obviously. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, you’d like to play better,” McDavid said. “But we came for a split, didn’t get that tonight. We have another great opportunity on Thursday to win in a tough building.
“Game 4 is a really big game. You go back home at 2-2, or down 3-1. It’s a big swing game … a pivotal game. There’s no doubt about it.”
Late Monday night, the Oilers altered their practice plan for Tuesday. While it was expected they would have a day off with two days between Games 3 and 4, instead the Oilers will practice on Tuesday, a team that knows the importance of what is to come Thursday night.
“We’ll have a couple days here to mentally reset. That’s the biggest thing after a game like that. The emotions are high,” said Oilers defenceman Jake Walman, who lose control of his emotions at times, caught by cameras while squirting water toward the Panthers bench at one point.
“It’s for the Stanley Cup, you know?” he responded. “So, (expletive). There’s not an inch out there. Everybody’s doing everything they can. That’s a grown man’s game out there. It’s not for the faint of heart. Guys are putting everything on the line.”
There has to be, however, a mental component to all of that effort.
The Panthers are the best there is in their systems play, their physical play, and winning the mind games that prevail in June hockey.
You can’t just beat them at some of those elements and think you’ll skate away with a Stanley Cup.
You have to beat them at all the things — some of which lie between the ears.
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