NHL

Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers

· National Hockey League
Final
3 - 4

Schmidt and Verhaeghe score in the 3rd, Panthers top Oilers 4-3 in Cup final rematch

Carter Verhaeghe nets goal for Panthers

Uvis Balinskis also scored for Florida, which jumped Toronto for first in the Atlantic Division.

Leon Draisaitl scored his 44th goal for the Oilers, who also got goals from Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman.

It was Edmonton's first time on the Panthers' ice since June 24, when Florida topped the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers won the clubs' first meeting earlier this season, prevailing 6-5 at Edmonton on Dec. 16.

Both teams had 12 players on the ice Thursday from the lineups that they used in Game 7 of the title series.

Takeaways Oilers: Edmonton has dropped five straight, the Oilers' longest slide since dropping six consecutive games in December 2021. The Oilers have allowed at least four goals in all five of the losses during the stretch.

Panthers: Florida was again without Matthew Tkachuk because of a lower-body injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. “He's out near-term, we know that. We're just making sure that we get ... different ideas on treatment plans,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Key moment Hyman got the Oilers within 4-3 with 3:35 left, but Edmonton took two penalties in the next 3:21 to hurt the rally bid.

Key stat Draisaitl's goal was his 316th over the last seven seasons, breaking a tie with Toronto's Auston Matthews for the most in that span. Matthews and the Leafs play Friday at the New York Rangers.

Up next Edmonton finishes a five-game trip Saturday at Carolina, while Florida remains home to face Calgary on Saturday. It'll be the first game back in Sunrise for Flames forward Ryan Lomberg since he helped Florida win the Cup last season.

Regular Season Series

FLA wins series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 12:28 Uvis Balinskis Goal (4) Wrist Shot, assists: Anton Lundell (25)
Goal 1st Period 14:41 Brett Kulak Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Vasily Podkolzin (15), John Klingberg (2)
Goal 2nd Period 15:30 Anton Lundell Goal (14) Tip-In, assists: Aaron Ekblad (25)
Goal 2nd Period 17:30 Leon Draisaitl Goal (44) Wrist Shot, assists: John Klingberg (3)
Goal 3rd Period 11:08 Nate Schmidt Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: A.J. Greer (9), Anton Lundell (26)
Goal 3rd Period 13:51 Carter Verhaeghe Goal (16) Wrist Shot, assists: Sam Reinhart (33), Aaron Ekblad (26)
Goal 3rd Period 16:35 Zach Hyman Goal (20) Wrist Shot, assists: Connor McDavid (52), Mattias Ekholm (18)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/edm.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originEDM https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/fla.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA
21 Blocked Shots 17
15 Hits 26
3 Takeaways 5
27 Shots 36
0 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 6
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 36
45.5 Faceoff Win Percent 54.5
10 Giveaways 11
7 Total Penalties 3
17 Penalty Minutes 9
Florida Panthers Florida Panthers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Aleksander Barkov, C Out Apr 2
Nico Sturm, C Out Apr 2
Dmitry Kulikov, D Out Mar 31
Matthew Tkachuk, LW Injured Reserve Mar 31
Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Mattias Ekholm, D Out Apr 2
Connor McDavid, C Out Apr 2
Stuart Skinner, G Out Apr 2
John Klingberg, D Out Apr 2
Trent Frederic, C Injured Reserve Apr 2

Game Information

Amerant Bank Arena

Location: Sunrise, FL
Attendance: 19,456 | Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 45 21 98 8
Los Angeles 42 23 93 9
Edmonton 43 26 91 5
Calgary 35 27 82 12
Vancouver 34 27 81 13
Anaheim 33 33 74 8
Seattle 31 38 68 6
San Jose 20 44 50 10

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 45 25 94 4
Tampa Bay 44 25 93 5
Florida 44 26 92 4
Ottawa 39 29 84 6
Montreal 35 30 79 9
Detroit 34 33 75 7
Buffalo 32 36 70 6
Boston 30 36 69 9
Full Standings