The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will enjoy an extra day off today after the Cats pounded the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl winners by a 6-1 count on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena to take a two games to lead in the series. As impressive as Florida’s victory was, it’s just another of the sixteen steps the Panthers need to defend their title. Expect the Oilers to rebound on Thursday. After allowing ten goals in his last two starts, Stuart Skinner could give way to Calvin Pickard, who is 6-0 in the playoffs, in Game 4. Pickard played the final 16:33 of Game 3 and stopped 7 of 8 shots faced. He was beaten Evan Rodrigues with Florida on a 5-on-3 man-advantage.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson became the Habs first Calder Memorial Trophy winner since Ken Dryden in 1972 when he was announced as the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Hutson received 165 out of 191 first place votes and those who voted for either Calgary’s Dustin Wolf or San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini all had him in second place, giving the 21-year-old a landslide win as the league’s top freshman. Hutson was impressive the season series against the Panthers, racking up seven assists over the course of four games, all won by Montreal.
The Charlotte Checkers continue to gather rust as they await Friday’s Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final against the Abbotsford Canucks. Charlotte has been idle since completing its sweep of the Laval Rocket on June 3. The Canucks ousted the Texas Stars in the Western Conference Final on June 8. The series will use a 2-3-2 format with the first and final two games scheduled to take place at Bojangles Arena. John Leonard leads the Checkers in postseason scoring with six goals and ten points. Goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen is 10-2 with a 1.73 GAA and .927 save percentage.