The Edmonton Oilers head into Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final seeking a 2-1 series lead. Corey Perry's tying goal went for naught in Game 2 as the Florida Panthers evened the series in double overtime. Game 3 should be the most intense of the series, especially if Mattias Ekholm sees his goalie, Stuart Skinner, dealing with rough stuff in front of the net.

Skinner has experienced some physicality in this series against the Panthers. Notably, he suffered an injury scare in Game 2 when Sam Bennett fell and landed on his leg. Physicality is a part of hockey. However, goalies are a no-go for this sort of thing. And Ekholm is not pleased with what he's seen from his opponent to this point.

“You can accidentally drop into him, but, at one point, enough’s got to be enough,” Ekholm told The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman ahead of Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

Oilers' Mattias Ekholm discusses limits of net front play

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) looks on as Los Angeles Kings celebrate a goal by right wing Quinton Byfield (55) in the second period of game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
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The Oilers are certainly cognizant of the ebbs and flows of hockey. They are also aware that they are guilty of similar play in front of Sergei Bobrovsky. Though the Panthers goalie hasn't received the same punishment, Edmonton has made life difficult for him physically and through a volume of shots.

Ekholm knows there is a line. However, he pointed to the lack of on-ice discipline for some of these incidents that he believes muddles the waters. When this happens, it's hard to know what to respond to and what to let go.

“Being a leader is understanding the situation,” Ekholm said, via Nugent-Bowman. “Not doing that, we actually scored on that power play, which we probably wouldn’t have on a four-on-four situation.

“It’s a fine line. We don’t want to take punishment from anybody. I’m not saying that. But you’ve got to read the situation and be cognizant of, ‘Has there been a penalty called? Has there not? What can help our team the most?’”

The Oilers and Panthers are only going to raise the intensity as the Stanley Cup Final continues. Edmonton needs to keep its cool, though, while also protecting its goalie. Let's see how they go about this in Game 3 on Monday night.