The Edmonton Oilers had a chance to avenge their Game 7 loss.
On Monday evening, the Oilers hosted the Panthers, facing the team that beat them in the 2024 Stanley Cup for the first time since late June. Unfortunately, they fell 6-5 in one of the most entertaining games this season. Let’s dig into what happened in this game.
Less than three minutes into the game, the Panthers took the lead as Evan Bouchard fumbled the puck at the blue line and blew a tire, leading to a breakaway for Jesper Boqvist. Although Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a terrific back check and cut down the angle, Boqvist was able to score the game’s opener.
With just under five minutes remaining in the first period, Connor McDavid found Zach Hyman all alone in the slot, beating Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky over the right shoulder. Unfortunately, in the dying seconds of the opening frame, Matthew Tkachuk was able to “redirect” the puck in with his foot to take the lead into the first intermission.
The second period has been the Oilers’ best period all season, and that trend continued Monday. Hyman got a breakaway just over six minutes into the second period, beating Bobrovsky with the backhand to tie the game up at two.
Less than a minute later, Connor Brown scored to continue his great stretch, scoring his third goal in as many games thanks to a one-timer set up by Corey Perry. With this goal, he has six this season and beat his point total (12) from last season.
The Oilers received a power play after a board by A.J. Greer. Early in the power play, Bouchard’s slap shot hit Hyman in the face, leading to some repairs that kept him out of the remainder of the second period. On the same power play nearly midway through the frame, Leon Draisaitl scored from his office for his league-leading 23rd goal of the season.
Late in the second period, the Panthers scored to make it 4-3 after an unfortunate bounce off Ty Emberson. Seven minutes into the third period, Nikko Mikkola tied the game as Bouchard turned the puck over while Oiler forwards were getting into some rough stuff near the benches.
The Panthers took the lead 30 seconds later, as Sam Reinhart found a little bit of daylight between Stuart Skinner’s head and the post, giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead. However, Kasperi Kapnen scored just over half a minute later, his third as an Oiler.
Sadly, the Panthers scored the game’s final goal with just under seven minutes left in the final frame, as Carter Verhaeghe beat a screened Skinner for the 6-5 lead.
Takeaways…
I don’t know about you, but I really hate the Florida Panthers. The way they play, the way they dive, the way they always get the whistle, I just hate ‘em.
Speaking of the whistle, the referees didn’t have a good game. Before the end of the first period, Darnell Nurse was called for a trip, the right call, but was given an additional unsportsmanlike penalty for arguing the call. Now, we don’t know what was said, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the ref make an unsportsmanlike call after the initial penalty. Just weak stuff.
On the ensuing power play for the Panthers, Matthew Tkachuk very clearly kicked the puck in, but after some deliberation, they ruled it a goal. Watch below to see it, but that goes far by “redirecting the puck with your foot”, as he moves his foot forward in a kicking motion.
Now, there were a few Oilers that didn’t have a great game. Stuart Skinner was one of them, as he allowed six goals on 28 shots. The fifth goal was horrendous and the first goal should’ve been saved as Boqvist had nowhere to go. There were some unfortunate bounces, but if Skinner played like he had the past eight games, the Oilers easily had the game in the bag.
However, Evan Bouchard easily had the worst game of any Oiler. It started early, as he tripped and allowed Boqvist the breakaway. On the next shift, he took a penalty which ended the Oilers’ first power play after just a few seconds. On the game-tying goal, he didn’t have an outlet, but still turned it over giving the Panthers all the momentum. He also wasn’t very accurate with the slapshot, not only hitting Zach Hyman in the face but becoming the “Shin Pad Assassin” on more than one occasion.
For the first time this season, the Oilers lost a game where they fought. After A.J. Greer boarded Vasily Podkolzin, the Russian forward got up and fought the perpetrator himself. This wasn’t their first fight, as Podkolzin, then a Vancouver Canuck, fought Greer, then a Boston Bruin, back in Nov. 2022.
The play of the game though, was Darnell Nurse tripping over the blue line on a breakaway after his third penalty of the game just ended. Despite the outcome, it was pretty funny – even he thought so.
Edmonton is back in action on Thursday at 9:00 PM MT, as they host the Boston Bruins. Afterwards, there are two more games before the Christmas break, the San Jose Sharks on Sunday and the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, both at home. The Oilers can get their revenge on the Panthers on Feb. 27, if you’re wondering.
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
