SUNRISE, Fla. — Taking advantage of the
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“We’re a very deep team,” Marchand said. “That’s one of our strengths is the depth of the group from the front end to the back end to the goaltending.”
At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky earned the “Bobby! Bobby!” chants from a fired-up South Florida crowd. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender known as “Bob” was on his game for the very few quality chances the discombobulated Oilers mustered, making 32 saves.
“Nothing’s going to be perfect in the way we play,” Reinhart said. “This time of year, you need some world-class goaltending and that’s what we get consistently.”
Edmonton’s Corey Perry, at 40 the oldest player in the series, beat Bobrovsky with some silky hands for a power-play goal.
Connor McDavid could not get his team on track, and Edmonton took 15 minors — led by Evander Kane‘s three plus a misconduct to add up to 85 penalty minutes — including a brawl that ensued with less than 10 minutes left. Trent Frederic and Darnell Nurse, who fought Jonah Gadjovich, got misconducts that knocked them out of a game with an outcome determined long before.
“Emotions in all these games are extremely high,” Marchand said. “This is the time of year you want to be playing, and you’re enjoying every minute.”
After the Final looked as evenly matched as can be with Games 1 and 2 each needing extra time, overtime and then double OT, Game 3 was a lopsided mismatch. The Oilers came unglued to the point that Jake Walman resorted to squirting water on Panthers players on their bench from his spot on the visiting side.
The teams have some extra time off before Game 4 on Thursday night, when the Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, have the chance to take a 3-1 lead and move to the verge of going back to back.
“Game 4 is a really big game,” McDavid said. “It’s a big swing game.”
