RECAP: Oilers 6, Panthers 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers fought hard but couldn’t dig themselves out of a deep early hole in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Falling to 11-9-1, the Panthers trailed 4-1 before eventually making it a 4-3 game.

Despite that strong push, the Oilers pulled away with two late empty-net goals.

“After they got a couple quick ones, we fought back and we played a pretty solid rest of the game,” forward Sam Bennett said of Florida’s determination in defeat. “We just couldn’t quite get that last one. It was a good push, but we just didn’t have quite enough.”

A late scratch, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad missed tonight’s game for the Panthers due to an illness.

“We expect him to travel with us tomorrow,” head coach Paul Maurice said.

Breaking the ice just 25 seconds after the puck dropped in the first period, Jack Roslovic squeaked a sneaky shot through Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads to put the Oilers on top 1-0.

Celebrating his 100^th game in the NHL with a point, Mackie Samoskevich helped the Panthers even the score when he curled around the net with speed and sent a pass into the blue paint that Anton Lundell powered past Stuart Skinner to make it 1-1 at 6:30.

But just 36 seconds later, Roslovic struck again to put the Oilers up 2-1 at 7:06.

Seconds after the Panthers successfully killed off a power play, the Oilers still managed to extend their lead when Mattias Ekholm buried a shot from the slot to make it 3-1 at 13:58.

Despite the Panthers coming out of the first intermission with a collective head full of steam, the Oilers managed to pad their lead when Vasily Podkolzin flew down the ice and picked a corner over Bobrovsky’s right shot to make it 4-1 at 6:45 of the second period.

Following that goal, Daniil Tarasov took over in Florida’s net.

“Like our team, Bob is so very consistent and so very strong,” Maurice said of the decision. “There’s no point in leaving him. We’re down 4-1 and we’re going to open up our game. It’s a great time for Danny to in. He came off a really great performance the last time in.”

Continuing to mark his milestone, Samoskevich cut the deficit in half when he teed up a pass from Uvis Balinskis and beat Skinner with a sizzling one-timer to make it 4-2 at 10:04.

On the power play soon after, Sam Reinhart got the Panthers to within a goal when he whacked in a rebound after a shot from Lundell to bring the score to 4-3 at 13:30.

Staying within their newfound striking distance, the Panthers killed off a power play for the Oilers late in the second period, with Tarasov making a pair of saves on the penalty kill.

In the dying seconds of the period, Tarasov then robbed Leon Draisaitl with an acrobatic toe save.

“It’s good when you’re cold and you’re just getting into the game to get shots,” Tarasov said. “It’s way easier to get in. The guys did a really good job in front of me.”

After leading 24-5 in scoring chances in the second period, the Panthers pressed the attacker further in the third period but couldn’t find the equalizer despite quality looks.

With just under three minutes left on the clock, the Oilers ended Florida’s hope of a comeback when Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie scored empty-net goals to make it 6-3.

“We generated enough to win; we just gave up too much to expect it,” Maurice said.

Getting a good warm-up as he prepares to man the crease on Monday against the Nashville Predators, Tarasov finished with 12 saves, including stopping all seven shots he saw in the third period.

“He was great,” Bennett said. “I can’t imagine it’s easy to come in cold, but he came in and did a great job.”

THEY SAID IT

“I think we got after it a little bit more [in the second half]. We were kind of sitting back early in the first. We a good push from every line and it seemed to be rolling over a little bit.” – Sam Bennett

“Everybody knows it’s a huge game coming into tonight. Everybody was ready. I just kind of prepared myself. After the first period, it could happen, you know? Just jumping in the game. A couple shots and it was a good feeling. The boys scored big goals.” – Daniil Tarasov

“It certainly was not a defensive struggle out there. It was a struggle at times, but not defensively.” – Paul Maurice

“Obviously, he’s (Gustav Forsling) the best defensive D-man in the league. He’s going to take care of you if you make a mistake. Just enjoy the game.” – Uvis Balinskis

CATS STATS

- Anton Lundell (1G, 1A) and Mackie Samoskevich (1G, 1A) each had multi-point games.

- Sam Reinhart has scored five goals during his six-game point streak.

- Sam Bennett has tallied three points (1G, 2A) in his last three games.

- Uvis Balinskis has logged two assists in his last three games.

- The Panthers led 38-31 in shots on goal.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Hitting the road for just one game, the Panthers will battle the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

To find out how to watch the game, click HERE.