GAME RECAP: Panthers 4, Oilers 3 (Game 3) | Edmonton Oilers

EDMONTON, AB – On the verge of a historic comeback, the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t pull it off to avoid leaving themselves on the brink of elimination in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers had their third-period revival fall short on Thursday night in a 4-3 defeat to the Panthers in Game 3 at Rogers Place, scoring through Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod to make it a one-goal contest after Florida netted three goals in 6:19 of the middle frame, but the Blue & Orange were unable to find that extra goal to prevent themselves from falling behind 3-0 in the series.

“We definitely cut it close,” Stuart Skinner said. “We battled to the end, and that’s the kind of team we’ve had for the whole season and this is just another game where we proved that.”

“I think that we can be an amazing team, and I know that we can find a way to beat these guys.”

Warren Foegele beat Panthers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway early in the second period to make it 1-1 after Sam Reinhart opened the scoring with 1:02 left in the opening frame.

However, the Russian netminder came up clutch numerous times over the full 60 minutes, making 32 saves to backstop his side to their sixth straight victory in the playoffs – including three straight in the Stanley Cup Final where Bobrovsky has stopped 82 of the 86 shots he’s faced against Edmonton for a .958 save percentage.

Stuart Skinner made 19 saves on 23 shots in the defeat, while Connor McDavid recorded two assists.

The Oilers will fight to stay alive on Saturday night and stave off elimination in Game 3 against the Panthers back at Rogers Place.