The officials working Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final might be feeling fortunate they are in Florida rather than Edmonton following a contentious play.
Just three minutes into the second period, Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart netted his initial goal of the series, firing it bar-down past Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner to re-establish his team`s two-goal advantage.
While Carter Verhaeghe received the primary assist on the play, referee Francis Charron arguably deserves a secondary helper after inadvertently impeding an Oilers defenseman.
As Oilers blueliner John Klingberg attempted to skate the puck up the boards while being pressured by Aleksander Barkov, Charron was slow to move out of the way. Klingberg ended up colliding with him, leading to a loose puck. Verhaeghe quickly retrieved the puck, found Reinhart, who then scored.
Compounding the issue for the Oilers was that this goal came only 1:20 after Corey Perry had just scored Edmonton`s first goal of the game, narrowing the Panthers` 2-0 lead and building some positive momentum for the Oilers. The collision and subsequent goal quickly deflated that.
Following the frustrating Reinhart goal, Sam Bennett extended the Panthers` lead further by scoring his fourth goal of the series less than five minutes later, making it 4-1 for Florida midway through the second frame.
Tristan Blackwood