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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse delivered a stick-bending cross check to Anton Lundell, then another, and another, and then just for good measure on seeing his penalty coming, yet another.
He then cursed all his way to the penalty box.
And threw a water bottle in it.
And then the real fighting began, because of what the Florida Panthers did in Game 3’s 6-1 win. That’s the frustration they wrought.
That’s the havoc their game causes on their best nights, and they were at their best in Monday in controlling play from the start, sending Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner to the showers and making Edmonton so frustrated it dragged everyone back to the 1970s for fight-club hockey in an ending as senseless to watch as the first two games were magical.
The main event pitted the Panthers’ Jonah Gadjovich, whose name reads like a collision, against Nurse, a tough guy himself. They grabbed and fought and Gadjovich got in enough right jabs to bloody Nurse’s mouth before they finally stopped.
“It was like a five-minute UFC fight,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said.
Yes, that’s who they are, what their full identity is, this team that can beat you with sublime hockey and then go down the dark alley and beat you there, too.
“We ended up playing what Florida kind of wanted,” Skinner said. “They were great.”
The Panthers are now two games from sitting back down on the throne. Two wins from defending their title and holding the Stanley Cup for another year. Two nights no matter how they come from becoming just the third South Florida team to repeat as champs.
If they come like Monday, all the better. Because this wasn’t just Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scoring big goals, though it was them again. Marchand opened scoring 54 seconds into the game. Bennett later scored his 14th of the playoffs on a breakaway to make it 4-1.
But the Panthers’ first line produced for the first time this series, too. Carter Verhaeghe’s dart made it 2-0. Sam Reinhart’s similarly top-shelf shot made it 3-1 early in the second period, and Edmonton started soon after to lose their sense of composure.
“Frazzled,” was Wayne Gretzky’s word for Edmonton after the second period.
The Panthers were up 5-1 then, and they knew what was coming. Cheap shots. Stick work. Fights from frustration or out of some ancient hockey code.
“We talked about it,” Tkachuk said. “If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you’ve got to take it.”
The idea was to win.
“We just played a really smart game,” Tkachuk said.
The night began to spin out of hand when Edmonton’s Trent Frederic jumped Bennett, then slashed him with his stick when Bennett tried to move away. Any sense of hockey disintegrated from there until 122 minutes of third-period penalties were handed out.
None of those will mean anything come Game 4 on Thursday. The question is whether the Panthers have cracked some code with the manner they played Monday — or simply cracked Edmonton’s composure for one night.
Because this was the first game a fault line appeared in the series. Gone was the sparkling play and dramatic overtime goals of the first two games. In its place was the Panthers showing their full identity while Edmonton’s looked blurred as the night went on.
“I don’t think our best has shown up all series long, but it’s coming,” Edmonton’s Connor McDavid said.
There’s still a lot of climbing left up the mountain for the Panthers. Game 4 will be their first chance to really take control of the series.
They showed Monday who they are on their best nights. Talented. Strong. Deep. And composed in a manner Edmonton wasn’t, a manner that said another tool was discovered on this run.
“I don’t feel old,” Tkachuk said. “But we played tonight like a veteran older team.”
Jessica Ricknowski applies the finishing touches to her skin Ryan as he channels his inner “Chuck,” before game three of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Warren Massey of West Palm Beach puts flags of Florida sports teams in the bed of his pickup truck before game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) leads the team onto the ice for game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores during the first period of game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) celebrates a first period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) scores in the first period of game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) blocks a shot during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) is seen during introductions for game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) fight during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19), Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) and Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen (27) celebrate a second period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) and Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) battle Jon the boards during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates a second period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) touts Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) is upended during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse trade punches during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) A battered Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) heads to the penalty box after a fight during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) The Panthers and Edmonton Oilers fight during the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks to his players after a brawl during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers celebrate a third period goal by Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Edmonton Oilers left wing Viktor Arvidsson (33)and Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) battle in the crease uring game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 23Nicholas Gonzalez blasts his son Logan, Gonzlez, age 9, with a cold CO2 blaster before game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, in the parking lot the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand
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He then cursed all his way to the penalty box.
And threw a water bottle in it.
And then the real fighting began, because of what the Florida Panthers did in Game 3’s 6-1 win. That’s the frustration they wrought.
That’s the havoc their game causes on their best nights, and they were at their best in Monday in controlling play from the start, sending Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner to the showers and making Edmonton so frustrated it dragged everyone back to the 1970s for fight-club hockey in an ending as senseless to watch as the first two games were magical.
The main event pitted the Panthers’ Jonah Gadjovich, whose name reads like a collision, against Nurse, a tough guy himself. They grabbed and fought and Gadjovich got in enough right jabs to bloody Nurse’s mouth before they finally stopped.
“It was like a five-minute UFC fight,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said.
Yes, that’s who they are, what their full identity is, this team that can beat you with sublime hockey and then go down the dark alley and beat you there, too.
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“We ended up playing what Florida kind of wanted,” Skinner said. “They were great.”
The Panthers are now two games from sitting back down on the throne. Two wins from defending their title and holding the Stanley Cup for another year. Two nights no matter how they come from becoming just the third South Florida team to repeat as champs.
If they come like Monday, all the better. Because this wasn’t just Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scoring big goals, though it was them again. Marchand opened scoring 54 seconds into the game. Bennett later scored his 14th of the playoffs on a breakaway to make it 4-1.
But the Panthers’ first line produced for the first time this series, too. Carter Verhaeghe’s dart made it 2-0. Sam Reinhart’s similarly top-shelf shot made it 3-1 early in the second period, and Edmonton started soon after to lose their sense of composure.
“Frazzled,” was Wayne Gretzky’s word for Edmonton after the second period.
The Panthers were up 5-1 then, and they knew what was coming. Cheap shots. Stick work. Fights from frustration or out of some ancient hockey code.
“We talked about it,” Tkachuk said. “If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you’ve got to take it.”
The idea was to win.
“We just played a really smart game,” Tkachuk said.
The night began to spin out of hand when Edmonton’s Trent Frederic jumped Bennett, then slashed him with his stick when Bennett tried to move away. Any sense of hockey disintegrated from there until 122 minutes of third-period penalties were handed out.
None of those will mean anything come Game 4 on Thursday. The question is whether the Panthers have cracked some code with the manner they played Monday — or simply cracked Edmonton’s composure for one night.
Because this was the first game a fault line appeared in the series. Gone was the sparkling play and dramatic overtime goals of the first two games. In its place was the Panthers showing their full identity while Edmonton’s looked blurred as the night went on.
“I don’t think our best has shown up all series long, but it’s coming,” Edmonton’s Connor McDavid said.
There’s still a lot of climbing left up the mountain for the Panthers. Game 4 will be their first chance to really take control of the series.
They showed Monday who they are on their best nights. Talented. Strong. Deep. And composed in a manner Edmonton wasn’t, a manner that said another tool was discovered on this run.
“I don’t feel old,” Tkachuk said. “But we played tonight like a veteran older team.”
Jessica Ricknowski applies the finishing touches to her skin Ryan as he channels his inner “Chuck,” before game three of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Warren Massey of West Palm Beach puts flags of Florida sports teams in the bed of his pickup truck before game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) leads the team onto the ice for game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores during the first period of game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) celebrates a first period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) scores in the first period of game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) blocks a shot during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) is seen during introductions for game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) fight during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19), Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) and Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen (27) celebrate a second period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) and Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) battle Jon the boards during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates a second period goal during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) touts Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) is upended during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse trade punches during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) A battered Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) heads to the penalty box after a fight during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) The Panthers and Edmonton Oilers fight during the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks to his players after a brawl during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers celebrate a third period goal by Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) during game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Edmonton Oilers left wing Viktor Arvidsson (33)and Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) battle in the crease uring game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 23Nicholas Gonzalez blasts his son Logan, Gonzlez, age 9, with a cold CO2 blaster before game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Monday Jun 9, 2025, in the parking lot the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand
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