The Florida Panthers took command of the Stanley Cup Final series with a decisive 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3. Following Monday`s contest, Oilers forward Evander Kane expressed his belief that the Panthers are not called for penalties as frequently as his team.
“They seem to get away with it more than we do,” Kane remarked. “It`s challenging to determine the line. They are engaging in similar actions as us, but there appears to be slightly more attention on our group.”
In Game 3, the Oilers were assessed 21 penalties resulting in 85 minutes in the box, whereas the Panthers accumulated just 14 penalties totaling 55 minutes. The Panthers were effective on the power play, scoring three of their six goals while having a man advantage.
Kane himself was penalized twice in the first period of Game 3, receiving calls for cross-checking and high-sticking. He later received a misconduct penalty in the third period for slashing Carter Verhaeghe.
While the second period saw minimal penalties, the final period became considerably rougher. Midway through the third, a multi-player incident led to misconduct penalties for several players, including Sam Bennett, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse, in addition to Kane`s penalty.
Tensions clearly escalated during the final 20 minutes, but Kane did not suggest it was due to the Panthers specifically provoking the Oilers.
“No, I don`t think that was the reason,” Kane commented. “The game just obviously got out of hand towards the end there. That stuff is going to happen. When you look at some of the calls and so forth, obviously some of them are frustrating.”
It is worth noting that in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers actually incurred more penalties than the Oilers.
With their victory in Game 3, the Panthers have now won two consecutive games and hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Forward Sam Reinhart opened the scoring in Game 3, contributing to the Panthers` strong start.
The Panthers will aim to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in Game 4 on Thursday.
Torin Vale 
Elton Marrow