SUNRISE — Home sweet home.
The Florida Panthers returned home in style after two tense Stanley Cup Final games in Edmonton to blast the Oilers 6-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.
All three Florida lines scored in the Cup’s most one-sided affair thus far, chasing Edmonton Oilers goalkeeper Stuart Skinner in the third period with a power play goal from Aaron Ekblad for an emphatic exclamation point.
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Florida Panthers game score: ‘All heck breaks loose’ in 3rd period after major scrum
Brad Marchand strikes again in Panthers’ big first period
Brad Marchand #63 celebrates with Seth Jones #3 of the Florida Panthers after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in Game Three of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 09, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
The Florida Panthers’ veteran newcomer continued his playoff heater during Game 3.
The only difference was that the 37 year old didn’t wait until the tense final seconds of the game to light the lamp.
This time, he needed less than a minute to give Florida a 1-0 lead, pouncing on Edmonton’s net to beat Stuart Skinner at the 56 second mark of the game.
The first period was wrought with penalties — a common theme in the series thus far — with the teams splitting nine power plays in the first 20 minutes.
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Carter Verhaeghe took advantage with 2:15 remaining in the first, finding net with a slap shot following build-up by Evan Rodrigues and Nate Schmidt to give the Panthers a 2-0 edge before the first intermission.
Same Reinhart breaks mini-slump with second period strike
For all of the goals scored across the first two games of Stanley Cup action, one name that was unusually absent from the scoring sheet was Sam Reinhart.
That changed three minutes into the second period when he converted a pass from Verhaeghe to beat Skinner.
It was his first shot of the game, following nine shots on goal across Games 1 and 2.
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Reinhart’s strike provided the Panthers with some breathing room after Corey Perry scored on the power play at 18:20 in the period, restoring a two-goal lead.
That breathing room expanded with Sam Bennett’s breakaway goal less than five minutes later, prompting the home fans to channel their energy into a sarcastic chant targeting Skinner.
Across the first 30 minutes of the game, the Panthers managed four goals on just 16 shots.
Tensions boil over after Panthers chase Skinner
Aaron Ekblad’s power play goal in the third period signaled the end of a demoralizing night for Stuart Skinner, as Edmonton turned to backup goalkeeper Calvin Pickard to finish out Game 3.
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In the one-sided game, a number of small scuffles finally boiled over into a full-fledged brawl on the ice, with virtually all players dropping the gloves.
The fight quickly centered around Florida’s Jonah Gadjovich and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse, who each landed several big blows during the prolonged melee.
Florida’s A.J. Greer and Sam Bennett and Edmonton’s Trent Frederic and Corey Perry, in addition to Gadjovich and Nurse, all received two-minute minors.
2025 Stanley Cup Final schedule
Game 1: Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) [Edmonton leads series, 1-0]
Game 2: Florida 5, Edmonton 4 (2OT) [Series tied, 1-1]
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Game 3: Florida 6, Edmonton 1 [Florida leads series, 2-1]
Game 4: June 12 in Sunrise, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 5: June 14 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 6: June 17 in Sunrise, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 7: June 20 in Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
*if necessary
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
Time: 8 p.m., Thursday
TV: TNT/truTV
Stream: HBO Max and Sling TV
Alex Peterman covers sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers trounce Edmonton Oilers in Game 3
