Florida Panthers Send the Oilers Out Disappointed. Again

SUNRISE — The Edmonton Oilers are probably glad they will not have to visit Amerant Bank Arena (or face the Florida Panthers) for another year, barring a rematch in the Stanley Cup Final.

Then, all bets are off.

The home rink of the Panthers has not been good to the Oilers lately.

Not only did they lose three of the four games in last year’s Stanley Cup Final here, but Game 7 was an excruciatingly painful 2-1 loss for all the marbles.

“Last time they were here, we played in the finals,” Anton Lundell said. “We have such good games against them; it always brings good memories back. I feel like it’s one of those teams where it’s pretty easy to get ready for a game. … It gave us a little extra motivation.”

Although Thursday night’s 4-3 loss to the Panthers was not nearly as dramatic, it was the Oilers’ third straight one-goal loss against Florida.

In the previous meeting in Edmonton in December, Florida pulled out a 6-5 win.

For those with long memories, the Oilers dropped both regular-season games to the Panthers last year.

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The last time the Oilers beat the Panthers in a regular-season game was November 28, 2022.

That took overtime in Edmonton.

Before last night’s game, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch tried to downplay the symbolism of a return to the scene of last year’s bitter disappointment.

“Obviously, it’s on everybody’s mind, but I think all season, what’s been on our mind is what’s going to happen this year,” Knoblauch said.

“It was a wonderful series. It went to seven games. We came up a little bit short.

“Right now, what’s on everyone’s mind is the disappointment in how we’re playing right now. … Last year’s playoffs have always been on our mind, but now, the No. 1 priority is turning it around and playing better hockey than we have been this last week.” 

The Oilers did play better hockey on Thursday.

For what it is worth, Paul Maurice was not thrilled with the way his Panthers played.

“I thought the last eight minutes, we looked the way we’re supposed to,” 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.”

Edmonton’s No. 1 goalie, Stuart Skinner, has taken his misfortunes in Florida stoically.

He was victimized for Sam Reinhart’s Cup-winning goal last June on a shot he would have liked to have back.

Thursday’s game was not as critical, but Skinner was again on the short end of some bad luck, including a go-ahead goal in the second period off Lundell’s skate shot by Aaron Ekblad.

After the game, Skinner told FHN he doesn’t dwell on these misfortunes.

“You don’t really think about it,” he said. “I think when you come into the building, you hear the fans, you hear ‘Bob made a great save in the second period.’ It reminds you of those feelings and it reminds you of past experiences that happened.

“But I think for us, it has been a while. I don’t really give much power to it.

“It’s easy to make that a big deal and obviously it is a big deal because we lost. But at the same time, it can show you a lot of positives about how we battled for a long stretch to even get to that point.”

The Oilers are in a slide now, losing five straight going to their next game in Carolina.

The Panthers did not help their cause.

Edmonton, like the Panthers, will be a playoff team.

We’ll see what happens.

The Oilers, as Maurice predicted, appeared to be invigorated by playing the Panthers on Thursday.

“I thought the guys really competed hard, around the walls and around the net,”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 were a few passengers. For the most part, most of the guys did everything they could.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 61

CALGARY FLAMES at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Even 1-1 
• This Season (Flames Lead 1-0) — At Calgary: Flames 3, Panthers 0 (Dec. 14). At Florida: Saturday.
• All-Time Regular Season Series: Calgary leads 26-12-3, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.