The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers combined for an astonishing 140 penalty minutes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. But it was the Western Conference champions who came unraveled, taking 16 penalties totalling 75 minutes in the third period of the 6-1 shellacking.

On the other hand, the Panthers kept their composure, allowing the Oilers to take penalties and then making them pay — three of Florida's goals came on the powerplay.

“It's not too difficult,” forward Sam Reinhart told reporters when asked how the team was able to stay composed, especially in the third period. “You're just trying to finish and close out a game, and that's what we did.”

The Panthers built a 4-1 lead midway through the second period and didn't ever give the Oilers a chance to get back into the game. Sergei Bobrovsky was masterful between the pipes, making 32 saves on 33 shots.

“We just went out there, played hockey,” said winger Matthew Tkachuk. “We were physical when we needed to be, supported pucks. We talked about it in the third. If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you've got to take it.

“We spent the whole period on the powerplay and were able to put in a couple insurance goals. When the time was needed to stick up for each other, it was there. We just played a really smart game.”

Despite the Panthers taking 55 penalty minutes of their own, neither Reinhart or Tkachuk were penalized at all on Monday night. For the Oilers, Evander Kane racked up 16 penalty minutes, while Darnell Nurse had 19.

Panthers 2 wins away from back-to-back titles

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It was an extremely encouraging performance from a Florida perspective; the Cats looked like the better team from start to finish, and it showed on the scoreboard. By the time the game devolved into chaos in the third period, the contest was already all-but-over.

“We were good today,” said Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, who was held off the scoresheet for the third time in the series.

It says a lot that, despite their captain not scoring a single point, the Panthers have been able to pot 14 goals in just three games. That's more than the Oilers gave up throughout the entire Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.

The depth is just tremendous, with Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett both making legitimate Conn Smythe Trophy cases with eight goals combined through three games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Florida continued to show its playoff mettle on Monday, and it's not at all surprising that the franchise has won 10 postseason series in 11 tries dating back to 2023. This club just looks borderline unbeatable at this time of year.

The Panthers will try to put the Oilers in a 3-1 stranglehold when puck drops for Game 4 just past 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday night.