Panthers attack the Oilers to win 5-1 with style.
EDMONTON: The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on Saturday, making up for losing their previous two games by a score of zero goals and one assist from Carter Verhaeghe.
With two goals and two assists from Sam Bennett, the Panthers (18-10-2) ended a two-game losing streak. Other scorers included Aleksander Barkov and Brandon Montour.
For the Oilers (13-14-1), Zach Hyman responded. After an eight-game winning streak, the team has now dropped two in a row.
With 5:33 remaining in the first period, the Panthers took the lead courtesy to a masterful ball-cycling play that culminated with Bennett passing the puck across the top of the crease to Verhaeghe, who beat Oilers starter Calvin Pickard to score his 14th goal of the year.
With just over a minute remaining in the first, Montour scored his first goal of the season thanks to a lovely pass from Verhaeghe behind the net to a wide-open pinching player.
After just 29 seconds, Barkov put in a rebound in close for his 11th of the year, helping the Panthers scrape out a 3-0 lead.
In addition to the five goals they gave up to Tampa Bay in the third period of their 7-4 loss on Thursday, it was Edmonton’s eighth goal surrendered in their previous two quarters of play.
Sergei Bobrovsky, the goalie for the Panthers, had a strong first quarter, denying Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Oilers twice on Grade A opportunities.
Eight minutes into the second period, Hyman finally put Edmonton ahead when he shifted to his backhand and lifted his 18th goal of the year over Bobrovsky. With the assist, Connor McDavid extended his scoring run to 12 games, during which he has scored 28 points and climbed up to sixth place in the scoring race from 91st place.
With four minutes remaining in the second period, Bennett scored his fourth goal on the backhand after gaining the zone on a power play and driving the net while deking Pickard. This gave Florida a three-goal lead again.
Just 21 seconds into the last frame, Verhaeghe stopped short and took his time before launching his second of the game high, giving the Panthers even more of a lead.
Four minutes later, Sam Gagner was given a penalty shot, giving Edmonton a fantastic opportunity to level the score, but Bobrovsky was very patient in stopping the shot.
Observations
Josh Mahura, a defenseman for the Panthers, is back in the starting lineup after missing the previous 13 games due to injury. The Florida starting lineup saw the addition of Evan Rodrigues and Gustav Forsling in place of defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Anton Lundell, who were both listed as absent due to sickness. .. Dylan Holloway, a forward, was not present for the Oilers, however he is anticipated to go with them. Nikko Mikkola, a blue liner for the Panthers, participated in his 200th NHL game. The Oilers last defeated the Panthers in regulation at home, winning 4-1 at the former Rexall Place stadium in November 2013.
Next up
Panthers: Play the Flames on Monday to cap out a five-game road trip to Calgary.
Oilers: Start a six-game road trip against the Islanders on Tuesday in New York.
The Canadian Press initially published this item on December 16, 2023.
Associated Press, Shane Jones
