Panthers explode for 5 goals to sink Oilers

Field Level Media|published: Sun 17th December, 01:12 2023

Dec 16, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) tries to screen Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period at Rogers Place. credits: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves, including one on a penalty shot, and also had an assist while Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist to lead the visiting Florida Panthers to a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.

It was the 20th two-goal game of Verhaeghe's career. Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists, Brandon Montour added a goal and an assist and Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Oliver Ekman-Larsson added two assists.

Bobrovsky stopped a third-period penalty shot by Sam Gagner en route to his 14th victory of the season, one behind NHL leaders Thatcher Demko of Vancouver and Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg.

Zach Hyman scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 12 games with an assist on Hyman's goal, his career-high 11th straight game with an assist. Calvin Pickard finished with 34 saves.

Florida, coming in off back-to-back shutout losses at Seattle and Vancouver, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.

Verhaeghe started the scoring at the 5:33 mark when he took a Bennett pass while cutting down the slot and beat Pickard with a wrist shot into the top left corner of the net. It snapped a 126-minute, 34-second scoreless drought for the Panthers.

The Panthers then scored twice in a 29-second span near the end of the period. Montour made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season, slapping Verhaeghe's pass into an open left side of the net. Barkov followed with his 11th goal when he tapped in a rebound of an Ekman-Larsson shot.

Edmonton cut it to 3-1 at the 8:08 mark of the second period when Hyman roofed a backhanded shot while cutting in front of the crease for his team-leading 18th goal of the campaign. Bennett put Florida back up by three goals with a power-play score with 3:59 left the period when he backhanded a shot inside the right post.

Twenty-one seconds into the third period, Verhaeghe made it 5-1 when he fired a wrist shot from the middle of the right circle past a Bennett screen and into the top right corner for his 15th goal.

Gagner, slashed from behind by Montour on a breakaway, was awarded a penalty shot a few minutes later, but Bobrovsky made a pad save on his wrist shot from the low slot.

—Field Level Media