Florida copies the Boston Celtics’ finals performance blueprint

The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the third match of the 2024 NHL final with a score of 4:3. They now need just one more victory to win the famous trophy named after Lord Stanley. Captain Aleksander Barkov set up a goal and scored another. Sergei Bobrovsky made some of the biggest of his 32 saves to prevent a comeback bid, and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

The home advantage did not help the Oilers find a solution for the great Panthers team. Florida’s aggressive play dominated the game, especially midway through the second period. They also took another step toward hockey’s mountaintop by pouncing on a handful of Edmonton turnovers and keeping Connor McDavid from scoring a goal again in this series. The Panthers took the lead towards the end of the first half with a goal from Reinhart, but the Oilers’ Fogela brought the home team back to life at the beginning of the second period.

The game’s outcome was determined six minutes after the second period. Between the ninth and 15th minute, Tarasenko, Bennett, and Barkov scored one after another, leading Florida to an unassailable 4:1 lead. In the final part of the game, the home team managed to reduce the deficit through goals from Broberg and McLeod. However, they did not have the strength to reach an equalizer.

Florida will have its first match point on Saturday night, while the Boston Celtics will have theirs tonight. Edmonton and Dallas will host these decisive games. It will be interesting to see if these two major US professional sports finals finish in a sweep; Boston and Florida will have the answer.