Anton Lundell was credited with a goal and two assists in the Florida Panthers back-and-forth win over the slumping Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena.
In the first meeting between the two teams in Sunrise since Florida captured the Stanley Cup, the Cats opened the scoring at the 12:28 mark when Lundell won an offensive zone faceoff back to Uvis Balinskis. Balinksis moved in and fired a wrister from the top of the left circle that deflected off defenseman Brett Kulak and eluded Stuart Skinner.
Kulak would get the goal back 2:13 later when he jumped into the play to take a centering pass from Vasily Podkolzin and beat a seemingly unprepared Sergei Bobrovsky from the left circle. The second assist on the goal went to recent acquisition John Klingberg.
The Panthers regained the lead 15:30 into the second when they would not let the Oilers clear their zone. Shortly after going over the boards on a change, Aaron Ekblad held the puck in at the point before skating into the right circle. He put the biscuit into the slot, looking for Lundell’s blade. Lundell’s stick was lifted by Troy Stecher, so instead the puck caromed off his skate and soared by a helpless Skinner.
A couple of mistakes and a strong effort from Leon Draisaitl allowed Edmonton to quickly even the score… again. The first boo boo occurred when Mackie Samoskevich whiffed on his attempt to knock the puck into the Oilers’ zone. Klingberg took possession along the boards and head-manned to Draisaitl. Gustav Forsling made the second error when he was way too casual in defending the NHL’s leading goal-scorer. Draisaitl bulled by him and sent a shot over Bobrovsky’s glove short-side exactly two minutes after Lundell’s goal.
Florida forged ahead for the third and final time with 9:52 remaining in regulation when Lundell found an incoming A.J. Greer, who dropped the puck to Nate Schmidt. The veteran defender snapped home a shot from just inside the left circle for his fifth of the season.
After having a goal waived off in the first period, Carter Verhaeghe notched a huge insurance marker that turned out to be the game-winner 2:43 later. Following an Aleksander Barkov faceoff win, Ekblad cleared the zone to Sam Reinhart, who sent Verhaeghe over the blue line alone. Verhaeghe’s initial shot was blocked by Mattias Ekholm, but he stayed with it and eventually slipped the puck past Skinner.
The Oilers would pull Skinner and halve the deficit at 16:35 when Connor McDavid and Ekholm combined to set up Zach Hyman for his 20th goal of the campaign.
Aided by a couple of late penalties on Ekholm and Corey Perry, the Cats were able to close out another tight win over Edmonton, handing the Oilers a fifth-straight loss, and retake first place in the Atlantic Division.
Florida is one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the standings, with the Buds holding two games in hand. The Maple Leafs will take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden tonight. Up next for the Panthers is a visit a Saturday afternoon visit from the Calgary Flames.
Pressure & Viscosity
- Anton Lundell’s first multi-point game since December 16th’s 6-5 win in Edmonton earned him First Star honors from the media. Lundell, who was credited with three shots, three hits and a block, reached the 40-point mark for the second time is his career.
- Leon Draisaitl’s second period strike gave him a league-leading 44 goals and a marker in each of his last seven games. Barring injury or a lengthy slump, Draisaitl is a lock for the Rocket Richard Trophy this season, and he is also in running for the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy.
- In addition to his two helpers, Aaron Ekblad logged a team-high 25:37 of ice time. The veteran defender also registered three shots on goal, two hits and blocked a shot.
- Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 24 stops and posted his 24th win, while the busier Stuart Skinner made 32 saves in a losing effort.
- The Panthers did a good job on Connor McDavid, limiting the speedy superstar to a late assist and just two shots on goal.
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