The Edmonton Oilers struggled to stay composed during a penalty-filled 6-1 loss in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, but the same can't be said for the Florida Panthers.
"It's not too difficult," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, who collected two points in the victory, said postgame. "You're just trying to finish and close out a game, and that's what we did."
Edmonton racked up 85 penalty minutes compared to Florida's 55. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch admitted that his team unraveled in the third period. Eight misconducts were handed out during the final 20 minutes: three for Florida and four for Edmonton.
"We just went out there, played hockey," Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. "We were physical when we needed to be, supported pucks.
"We talked about it in the third. If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you've got to take it. We spent the whole period on the power (play) and were able to put in a couple insurance (goals). When the time was needed to stick up for each other, it was there. We just played a really smart game."
Oilers forward Evander Kane didn't quite see it the same way, though. He said postgame that the Panthers "seem to get away with it more than we do." Kane racked up 16 penalty minutes in the game, second-most behind Darnell Nurse's 19.
Reinhart and Tkachuk both managed to stay out of the box in the contest.
The Panthers will look to build a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 on Thursday.
