Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky led the way as the Florida Panthers moved within a victory of their first Stanley Cup title, holding on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3 of the final Thursday night.
Game 4 is Saturday night in Edmonton. The Panthers have not won a championship since coming into the NHL in 1993.
Barkov set up a goal and scored another, while Bobrovsky made 32 saves. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored, with the Panthers pouncing on turnovers and quieting a fired up Edmonton crowd until the Oilers mounted a third-period rally that fell short.
It will take a comeback done just four times in league playoff history and once in the final — back in 1942 — to bring the Cup back to Canada.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Judge blocks Biden's Title IX rule in four states, dealing a blow to protections for LGBTQ+ students