Lundell has 3 points, Panthers defeat Oilers in Stanley Cup Final rematch 

SUNRISE -- Anton Lundell had a goal and two assists for the Florida Panthers, who scored twice in the third period to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Uvas Balinskis, Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt also scored for the Panthers (36-21-3), who have defeated the Oilers in both matchups this season and have won seven of their past nine. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.

“I thought the last eight minutes, we looked the way we’re supposed to,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “I really didn’t like our game tonight. I thought we put a lot of pucks in feet, looked away from a lot of pucks. We chose not to be as physical as I think we could have been. There won’t be a punitive skate [Friday], but we have played games that we have lost and I was really happy with our game. I didn’t love this one.”

Leon Draisaitl scored in his seventh straight game for the Oilers (34-21-4), who have lost five in a row. Stuart Skinner made 32 saves.

“I thought the guys really competed hard around the walls and around the net,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We had some pretty good performances by some guys, but to get out of a funk like this when things aren’t going well… we need everybody. I thought there was a few passengers. For the most part, most of the guys did everything they could.”

Balinskis gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 12:28 of the first period. Lundell won a face-off in the left circle back to Balinskis, who beat Skinner with a wrist shot.

Brett Kulak took a pass from Vasily Podkolzin in the left circle and beat Bobrovsky with a snap shot to tie it 1-1 at 14:41.

Lundell put the Panthers back in front 2-1 at 15:30 of the second when Aaron Ekblad’s shot from the top of the right circle deflected in off his skate.

“It always brings old memories back and they are one of those teams where it is pretty easy to get ready for a game,” Lundell said. “Every team we have played in the playoffs brings an extra spark between the two.”

Draisaitl responded to tie it 2-2 at 17:30. He picked up a loose puck at center ice and drove through the right circle in on Bobrovsky before beating him short side with a quick shot in tight.

The Panthers scored twice in 2:43 in the third period to take control of the game.

Schmidt took a drop pass from A.J. Greer and beat Skinner with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle to give Florida a 3-2 lead at 11:08, and Verhaeghe pushed it to 4-2 at 13:51 when he followed up his initial attempt and poked it in from below the left circle.

“This is always a big game, especially after what happened last year,” Verhaeghe said. “Getting the best of them tonight kind of sent a message. The way we played, we kind of grinded it out. We got the win, so that’s most important.”

Zach Hyman knocked in a centering pass from Connor McDavid with Skinner on the bench for an extra attacker for the 4-3 final at 16:35.

“It was a solid game by both teams. They are a hard forechecking team, big bodies who shoot a lot of pucks and get bodies to the net, which makes my job tough,” Skinner said. “We started to get going midway through the first period. Once we found our legs, we were pretty solid. Tough way to lose, for sure.”

NOTES: Draisaitl’s seven-game goal streak (eight goals) ties a career high and is tied with Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators and Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning for longest in the League this season. Draisaitl also pushed his point streak to 10 games (nine goals, five assists). … Lundell got his first multipoint game since he had two assists in Florida’s 6-5 win in Edmonton on Dec. 16.