After what was a crazy end to the third game of the Stanley Cup Final, which saw the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a> and Florida Panthers combine for 140 penalty minutes, the Panthers were the ones who came <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/despite-awful-showing-game-3-stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers-it-isnt-time-panic-about-edmonton-oilers">away with a 6-1 win</a> and, most importantly, a 2-1 lead in the series.

With <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-outplayed-outhustled-outworked-florida-panthers-6-1-game-3-loss">Florida running away with the win</a>, it was clear that the Oilers were trying to get under the Panthers&#8217; skin, resulting in numerous skirmishes and some fisticuffs. However, the Cats, who are no strangers to mixing things up when games start to get one-sided, maintained their composure for the most part.
After the game, forward Matthew Tkachuk joined the NHL on TNT panel. He was asked if <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-3-tactical-review">he could tell if the Oilers</a> were getting frustrated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
&quot;If you gotta take a punch in the face, you gotta do it&#8230; there&#39;s a bigger picture&quot;
Matthew Tkachuk said the Panthers kept composure while taking it to the Oilers in Game 3 <a href="https://t.co/p4UUfvOjGz">pic.twitter.com/p4UUfvOjGz</a>
&mdash; NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL_On_TNT/status/1932280787669242299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote>&#8220;It is what it is,&#8221; Tkachuk said. &#8220;We talk about being composed and you&#8217;ve got to take a punch in the face. You&#8217;ve got to take a slash in the face, a cross-check, slash in the leg. Whatever the case is, you&#8217;ve got to do it. There&#8217;s a bigger picture with the win here for us&#8230;just wanted to protect ourselves and protect our teammates when needed. At the end of the day, you&#8217;ve got to be smart in a game like this. I thought our team did that and really protected each other well.&#8221;</blockquote>
Tkachuk was also asked about forward Jonah Gadjovich, who stood up for teammate Sam Bennett, leading to a long fight with <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/pairing-darnell-nurse-evan-bouchard-just-what-edmonton-oilers-need">Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse</a>. Tkachuk assured that Gadjovich&#8217;s role with the team is crucial.
<blockquote>&#8220;He means so much, so much more than anybody would think or imagine. I don&#8217;t really know how [the fight] started&#8230;he comes in there and the rest of the guys came in there to help. He got what seemed like a five-minute UFC fight with Nurse there, and just seemed to be having the best time doing it. &#8230; That&#8217;s part of his game&#8230;.he&#8217;s done so many incredible things for our team.&#8221;</blockquote>
Tkachuk recognized that the Panthers played smart when things started to go sideways, referencing the instance when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was bumped by Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson.
<blockquote>&#8220;We played tonight like a really solid, like veteran, older team that&#8217;s been here before.. &#8230; Obviously, we don&#8217;t want to see anybody touch Bob, anybody near Bob. But, you know, we&#8217;ve got to be smart. Like I said, we&#8217;ve been here before. Sometimes it sucks you want to do something, but we&#8217;ve got bigger goals right now and we can deal with that next year, I guess.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Panthers now have the advantage heading into the fourth game of the series. They have the chance to move within a win of capturing a second championship before the series heads back to Edmonton this weekend. Puck drop for Game 4 is set for 6 p.m. MT on Thursday night.

After what was a crazy end to the third game of the Stanley Cup Final, which saw the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a> and Florida Panthers combine for 140 penalty minutes, the Panthers were the ones who came <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/despite-awful-showing-game-3-stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers-it-isnt-time-panic-about-edmonton-oilers">away with a 6-1 win</a> and, most importantly, a 2-1 lead in the series.



With <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-outplayed-outhustled-outworked-florida-panthers-6-1-game-3-loss">Florida running away with the win</a>, it was clear that the Oilers were trying to get under the Panthers' skin, resulting in numerous skirmishes and some fisticuffs. However, the Cats, who are no strangers to mixing things up when games start to get one-sided, maintained their composure for the most part.

After the game, forward Matthew Tkachuk joined the NHL on TNT panel. He was asked if <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-3-tactical-review">he could tell if the Oilers</a> were getting frustrated.

https://twitter.com/NHL_On_TNT/status/1932280787669242299
<blockquote>"It is what it is," Tkachuk said. "We talk about being composed and you've got to take a punch in the face. You've got to take a slash in the face, a cross-check, slash in the leg. Whatever the case is, you've got to do it. There's a bigger picture with the win here for us...just wanted to protect ourselves and protect our teammates when needed. At the end of the day, you've got to be smart in a game like this. I thought our team did that and really protected each other well."</blockquote>
Tkachuk was also asked about forward Jonah Gadjovich, who stood up for teammate Sam Bennett, leading to a long fight with <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/pairing-darnell-nurse-evan-bouchard-just-what-edmonton-oilers-need">Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse</a>. Tkachuk assured that Gadjovich's role with the team is crucial.
<blockquote>"He means so much, so much more than anybody would think or imagine. I don't really know how [the fight] started...he comes in there and the rest of the guys came in there to help. He got what seemed like a five-minute UFC fight with Nurse there, and just seemed to be having the best time doing it. ... That's part of his game....he's done so many incredible things for our team."</blockquote>
Tkachuk recognized that the Panthers played smart when things started to go sideways, referencing the instance when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was bumped by Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson.
<blockquote>"We played tonight like a really solid, like veteran, older team that's been here before.. ... Obviously, we don't want to see anybody touch Bob, anybody near Bob. But, you know, we've got to be smart. Like I said, we've been here before. Sometimes it sucks you want to do something, but we've got bigger goals right now and we can deal with that next year, I guess."</blockquote>
The Panthers now have the advantage heading into the fourth game of the series. They have the chance to move within a win of capturing a second championship before the series heads back to Edmonton this weekend. Puck drop for Game 4 is set for 6 p.m. MT on Thursday night.

‘There’s a bigger picture’: Matthew Tkachuk responds to chaotic end to Game 3 between Oilers and Panthers

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