‘An unraveling’: Panthers, Oilers dish on third-period brawl

SUNRISE It was fight night at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.Trailing 5-1 midway through the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers frustration boiled over.

Edmonton started a line brawl and promptly lost the fights all over the ice.Trent Frederic instigated a fight with Floridas Sam Bennett, and Bennett took him to the ice.

Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov took another Oiler down.

A.J.

Greer got into a fight near the Edmonton bench and took shots from players on the bench.

Jonah Gadjovich got into an extended fight with Darnell Nurse and emerged bloodied but energized, sticking his tongue out and chest-bumping A.J.

Greer in the penalty box.Bennett, Greer, Gadjovich, Nurse, Frederic and Mattias Ekholm all received misconducts for the fight.The fight did not do much to boost the Oilers fortunes.

They lost 6-1 and fell behind 2-1 in the series.Here is what some Panthers and Oilers had to say about the fight after the game:How the fights startedOilers coach Kris Knoblauch: Oh, definitely the third periods an unraveling.

I think the game was out of hand.

I dont think we would have acted or played like that had the game been a one-goal or two-goal game.

...

Boys being boys.

I guess just trying to make investments for the next game.Panthers forward Brad Marchand: I just think emotions in all these games are extremely high.

And obviously, this is the time of year you want to be playing and youre enjoying every minute.

So it doesnt really matter what happened tonight.

We both have to reset and worry about the next one.Did the Panthers get under the Oilers skin?Oilers forward Evander Kane: No, I dont think so.

I think the game obviously got out of hand at the end there.

That stuff is going to happen.

You look at some of the calls and whatnot, obviously, some of them are frustrating.

They seem to get away with it more than we do.

...

They seem to get away with it more than we do.

Its tough to find the line.

Theyre doing just as much stuff as we are.

It was 4-4 (in penalties) at the end of it and it gets out of hand.

There seems to be a little bit more attention on our group.Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe: I dont really know if we did that.

I think we just kind of stick to our game.

I dont really think that they have a different style than us, and it got away at the end.On the Panthers keeping their composurePanthers forward Sam Reinhart: Its not too difficult.

Youre just trying to finish and close out a game, and thats what we did.Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk (via a postgame interview with TNT): We talk about being composed.

If youve got to take a punch in the face, if youve got to take a slash to the face, a cross-check, a slash in the leg whatever the case is youve got to do it.

Theres a bigger picture with the win here for us.

We just wanted to protect ourselves and protect our teammates when needed, but at the end of the day, you just got to be smart in a game like this.Are the Panthers that frustrating to play against?Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov: I dont know.

I havent played against the Panthers.

Its fun to play, its hard to play.

So we were good today.Panthers on fourth-liners Jonah Gadjovich defending teammatesMarchand They dont get the love all the time that they deserve.

An incredible guy and that whole line.

I mean, Gadjy did an incredible job sticking up for the guys there and taking on Nurse, whos obviously a tough guy, as well.

But their entire game, they carry so much emotion and give us so much energy and a lot of really good momentum swings in our favor because the style of game that they play.

(Greer) was a big part of that as well, coming back in the lineup, and was a force out there.

And (Tomas Nosek) has been so steady all the way through the playoffs.

So that whole line has been great for us, and another big night from them tonight.Panthers coach Paul Maurice: Youre going to get that answer from any team in the National Hockey League thats playing in June, or were not here.

Both teams, theres so much passion in the game, and there will always (be), ...

Edmonton and Florida, I believe the two teams that have been on the longest journey for the last three years, weve both been through it.

So both teams should stick up for each other.

They care about each other.

The core is pretty much the same for both teams.

The drivers of the team are the same for the last three years, so theyll always have each others back.Tkachuk: He means so much.

So much more than anyone would think or imagine.

I dont really know how that started.

I think Benny or someone was eating cross-checks in the back or slashes or something, and he comes in there and the rest of the guys came in there to help.

He got into what seemed like a five-minute UFC fight with Nurse there and seemed to be having the best time doing it.PANTHERS-OILERS BRAWL FISTS WERE FLYING pic.twitter.com/MlBezSkK8Y Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 10, 2025.

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