After dropping the last game in a shootout to the Flames, the Florida Panthers were back in Alberta, taking on the Edmonton Oilers.
The Florida Panthers got off to a strong start, dictating play early on. They swarmed Mike Smith’s crease with lots of traffic and shots, but couldn’t seem to bury any of their chances.
The Oilers, on the other hand, picked up the pace as the game progressed. They had a couple of point-blank chances through Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, but both were denied by Sergei Bobrovsky.
Edmonton was even awarded the game’s first power play after Jayce Hawryluk tripped up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but the Panthers’ PK unit killed it off successfully.
The Panthers, too, also had a power-play opportunity of their own after Sam Gagner caught Josh Brown up high. The Cats created some good looks while a man up, even coming close on this play that could’ve been the go-ahead goal. Unfortunately, Barkov couldn’t get a stick on the loose puck.
Both teams headed to the locker room after twenty minutes of play scoreless. Smith and Bobrovsky were solid at both ends of the ice, keeping their respective teams in the game.
In the opening seconds of the period, Aaron Ekblad got the Panthers on the board first. Aleksander Barkov came rushing down the ice and dropped a pass back to Ekblad, who ripped a shot short-side past Mike Smith.
Shortly after, Brian Boyle recorded his first as a Panther after the puck bobbled its way onto his stick. Once he got a hold of the puck, Boyle patiently went around Smith and wired a wrist shot up and over his glove to double the Panthers’ lead.
The Panthers continued to charge and they weren’t done at No. 2. This time, Noel Acciari forced a turnover and snapped a shot past Smith’s blocker to give Florida a quick three-goal lead.
On the first three shots of the period, the Panthers suddenly had three goals. In result of that, they chased goaltender Mike Smith out of his crease, forcing Mikko Koskinen to come in for relief.
The Oilers were given a chance to regain some life after Dryden Hunt committed an interference penalty. But much like their first opportunity, the Panthers’ PK was just too strong to break.
The Cats continued pressing hard, looking eagerly for that fourth goal. They came close off a rush from Denis Malgin and Mike Hoffman, who both created chaos in front of Koskinen’s goal, but the Finnish netminder stopped them both to keep the score at 3-0 Florida.
After a dominating second period, the Panthers went straight to the locker room with a comfortable three-goal lead.
Like the second, the Panthers grabbed an early goal through Evgenii Dadonov, who smoothly committed a wraparound to give the Cats a 4-0 lead.
Not long after, James Neal broke Sergei Bobrovsky’s shutout after tipping home Leon Draisaitl’s initial pass. The goal brought some life to the Rogers Place, sparking some jump in the Oilers’ play.
The Panthers came close to regaining their four-goal lead after Evgenii Dadonov beautifully found Aaron Ekblad open in the slot, with Ekblad ringing a shot off the goal post.
Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board again with just over six minutes left in the game. After the initial point shot hit off the boards, Draisaitl jumped on the loose puck and stuffed it home to trim Florida’s lead down to two (4-2).
Edmonton pulled their goalie with hopes of finding a third, but they couldn’t set up in the Panthers’ zone. Instead, Florida cleared the puck down the ice and Frank Vatrano slotted it home to give the Panthers a 5-2 lead.
Just before the final horn went off, Jayce Hawryluk found his first goal of the season, adding some more salt to the Oilers’ wound. His beautiful wrist shot found the short side past Mikko Koskinen.
The Florida Panthers would end up winning by a score of 6-2, getting themselves back in the win column. Without any doubt, this game was their best from an all-around standpoint, displaying a full sixty-minute effort.
Your Panthers are back in action on Monday, October. 28 @ 10 P.M. against the Vancouver Canucks at the Rogers Arena.