Florida Panthers Lead Stanley Cup Final Series 2-1 Over Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers suffered a significant 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, a defeat marked by a crucial turnover caused by referee Francis Charron that led to a Panthers goal and drained the Oilers' momentum. Key players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl struggled to make a substantial impact, with McDavid failing to get going and Draisaitl involved in a bench miscommunication contributing to early goals against. The Panthers finally broke their home power play drought by scoring twice with the man advantage, including goals by Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad, helping them take a 2-1 series lead. Edmonton's execution issues, especially in line changes during the second period, allowed Florida to dominate play and outscore them 3-1 in that frame, which was a recurring problem noted in earlier games. Despite Edmonton's strong start in Game 2, they lost in double overtime, highlighting the challenges they face in maintaining leads against Florida's aggressive forecheck and effective special teams. The series remains tightly contested, with both teams needing to address their respective weaknesses to advance in the playoffs.