Oilers Defeat Panthers 6-3 in Post-Cup Rematch

Sunrise, Florida (AP) The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena, marking the first matchup between the teams since the Panthers claimed their second consecutive Stanley Cup title over Edmonton in June.

The game began with a quick strike from Edmonton, as Jack Roslovic scored just 25 seconds in, firing a shot from the right boards that slipped past Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Anton Lundell tied it at 1-1 with 6:30 left in the first period, jamming home a rebound after a wraparound feed from Mackie Samoskevich. Roslovic responded 36 seconds later, converting a backhand pass from Evan Bouchard to restore Edmonton's lead at 2-1. Mattias Ekholm extended the advantage to 3-1 at 13:58, tipping in a shot from Darnell Nurse through traffic.

Edmonton poured it on early in the second period, with Vasily Podkolzin scoring from a sharp angle at 6:45 on a wrist shot off Bobrovsky's shoulder, prompting Panthers coach Paul Maurice to pull his starter after four goals on 17 shots. Backup Daniil Tarasov entered and steadied the net, stopping all 12 shots he faced. Florida mounted a comeback, as Samoskevich one-timed a cross-seam pass...