As the Oilers faced a tough defeat with a 6-1 loss to the Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the match concluded with both teams sending strong messages through a series of scuffles as the final buzzer went off.
Corey Perry made a move against Niko Mikkola when the game ended, sparking confrontations with Panther players and eventually engaging in a quick brawl with Tomas Nosek until the referees stepped in to restore calm.
During the on-ice commotion, fans at Amerant Bank Arena took part in a South Florida tradition by throwing plastic rats onto the ice, a practice that has been ongoing since the Panthers’ 1996 Stanley Cup Final appearance.
The light fisticuffs punctuated a very physical third period and a game that saw a combined 138 penalty minutes.
Things exploded in the third when a line brawl was ignited after Oilers forward Trent Frederic got into it with Sam Bennett.
The line brawl sent Frederic, Bennett, Mattias Ekholm, Jonah Gadjovich and Darnell Nurse to the locker rooms early.
The Panthers led for the entire night, scoring their first goal 56 seconds into the first period and scored five more times through the rest of the game with Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Bennett Aaron Ekblad and Evan Rodrigues all finding the back of the net.
Perry scored the Oilers’ only goal of the night, which came in the second period.
Marchand’s goal less than a minute into the game made him the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a Cup Final, and Bennett’s goal was his playoff-leading 14th.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 stops for the Panthers in the Game 3 win.
The Panthers lead the series 2-1, and Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday in Sunrise.
