RECAP: Panthers 5, Oilers 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – Nikko Mikola scored a pair of goals to help the Florida Panthers erase an early deficit and secure a huge 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Improving to 12-5-1, Florida has gone 7-1-0 on home ice.

“That would be maybe too much for me,” Mikkola, who netted one goal all of last season, smiled when asked about missing out on a hat trick. “If I had to shoot it at the empty net, I’d take it.”

Moments after the Panthers nearly broke the ice with two great scoring chances, the Oilers ended up striking first when Connor McDavid teed up a pass from Leon Draisaitl and beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a blistering one-timer from a sharp angle to make it 1-0 at 5:59 of the first period.

Just 3:01 later, Evan Kane doubled Edmonton’s lead to 2-0 with a goal at the 9-minute mark.

Pushing back for the Panthers, Carter Verhaeghe cut the deficit in half when he beat Calvin Pickard with a top-shelf snipe on the power play to make it 2-1 at 10:36. Prior to sending the puck to Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart beat two Oilers along the boards to set the play in motion.

Keeping their foot on the gas, the Panthers pulled even when – after a failed clearing attempt from the Oilers hit off one of their own players – Kevin Stenlund dropped a pass back to Mikola, who then beat Pickard with a wicked shot from the left circle to make it 2-2 at 15:53.

After Kane’s goal, the Oilers had just one shot on goal over the final 11 minutes of the period.

“Maybe the coaches and teammates trust you to jump in the play every time you see it," Mikkola said when asked about the spike in his offense since joining the Panthers. "We want that, one D always up in the play. We get chances that way. I like that.”

Less than a minute into the second period, Bobrovsky robbed Draisaitl with an epic glove save.

Firing up the home crowd even more, Jonah Gadjovich, who’s only in his second game with the Panthers, dropped the gloves with Vincent Desharnais. Despite his opponent having five inches and 17 pounds on him, Gadjovich landed several big punches as neither fighter went down.

In 35 games with San Jose in 2022-23, Gadjovich racked up 57 penalty minutes.

“I was just trying to chip away and do what I can to help the team,” Gadjovich said.

After McDavid beat Bobrosky on a penalty shot to put Edmonton on top 3-2 at the 5-minute mark, Mikkola answered with a second goal of his own to even things up for Florida again.

On an odd-man rush after Philip Broberg tripped on a loose stick, which had been knocked out of Verhaeghe’s hands moments earlier, Mikkola sent the puck into the crease trying to get it Evan Rodrigues. Instead, the puck went off Pickard and across the goal line to make it 3-3 at 6:08.

Just like they drew it up, right?

“He fits here,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Mikkola, who signed a three-year contract with Florida this past summer. “We really felt he could just by him being a very competitive guy. He competes every shifts, closes the gap. He battles, he’s physical. When the puck’s going north, he gets involved.”

With the Panthers continuing to apply pressure, Ryan Lomberg flew into the zone with the puck to ignite a sequence that would eventually end with Stenlund depositing a feed from Eetu Luostarinen from the right side of the net for his fifth goal of the season to make it 4-3 at 13:42.

Keeping the Oilers off the board in the third period, the Panthers killed off two power plays.

“I know we gave one up in each of the last two or three games, but for six or seven games right now our penalty kill looks really good and really dialed in,” Maurice said. “Sergei is a big part of that, but our penalty kill looks good.”

With 42.6 seconds left, Sam Bennett locked in the 5-3 win with an empty-net goal.

Finishing with 25 saves, Bobrovsky improved to 9-4-1 this season and earned the 369th win of his NHL career, tying him with Tom Barrasso and Pekka Rinne for 20th on the NHL’s all-time list.

“I thought the guys did a great job,” said Bobrovsky, who’s 6-1-1 in his last eight starts. “It’s fun to be out there in those moments when the game is on the line against two of the best players in the world. To compete against them and shut them down, it’s even better. It was fun.”

THEY SAID IT

“It’s fun. They challenge you with their ferocity and their speed and their smart plays. It’s fun to be there, for sure.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on facing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl

“It’s been great. I’ve been here for a couple months, but just getting into games now. Everyone’s been great – the staff, all the players. I think that really helps with the transition.” – Jonah Gadjovich on getting settled in with the Panthers

“I thought both goaltenders made some incredible saves. There weren’t a lot of ‘B’ chances. From the bench, it felt there were a whole bunch of ‘A’s’ and I liked the ones that we had. I thought we played a heck of a game in here tonight.” – Paul Maurice on tonight’s win

CATS STATS

- Ryan Lomberg skated in his 200^th NHL game.

- Sam Reinhart is the second-fastest skater in Panthers history to record 25 points.

- Niko Mikkola recorded the first multi-goal game of his career.

- Aaron Ekblad blocked a team-high four shots.

- Sam Bennett registered three takeaways.

- Kevin Stenlund notched a season-high three points (1G, 2A).

- The Panthers led 22-14 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- The Panthers won 57.7% of their faceoffs.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Looking to avenge their loss last month in Boston, the Panthers will host the Bruins for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

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