Panthers stay hot, overcome McDavid's 2 goals for Oilers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers overcame two goals by Connor McDavid to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Niko Mikkola scored two goals for the first time in the NHL, Kevin Stenlund had a goal and two assists, and Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist for Florida (12-5-1), which has won seven of eight. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves.

“At the end of the day, we had people who normally don’t get on the score sheet to the extent that they did that was really important," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “But it was still going to be [Eetu] Luostarinen, [Anton] Lundell and [Sam] Reinhart when [the Oilers] loaded that lineup with the two best offensive players in the National Hockey League (McDavid and Leon Draisaitl). I thought they did a great job."

Evander Kane scored for Edmonton (5-11-1), which has lost two straight. Calvin Pickard made 27 saves in his first NHL game since March 27, 2022.

“We’re trying to keep the puck out of the net, obviously,” said McDavid, the Oilers captain. “That is our main focus and, obviously, we have not done that for a number of reasons. We’re always trying to defend.

"There's lots of fight. I don't think the resiliency is gone. I think you're seeing lots of fight. I thought tonight was an emotional game, it could've gone either way again, and obviously we find ourselves on the wrong side. Like everyone keeps saying, we're in the business of winning, and we have to find a way to win."

McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 5:59 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from a sharp angle below the right circle.

Kane made it 2-0 at 9:00 with a wrist shot glove side from the left hash marks.

Verhaeghe cut it to 2-1 at 10:36 with a power-play goal.

Mikkola then tied it 2-2 at 15:53, beating Pickard glove side from the left face-off dot off a drop pass from Stenlund. The play started after Mattias Ekholm's clearing attempt hit Zach Hyman, who was skating to the bench to get a new stick.

“We’re scoring enough goals to win,” Ekholm said. “We got four on the road in Tampa (a 6-4 loss on Saturday), we scored enough here as well. We just need to limit the chances. No excuses. It’s on us and we need to play better defense. But ... I try to clear it, it hits [Hyman's] back. We just need to stay on the right side and not try and hit the home run play."

McDavid put Edmonton back in front 3-2 at 5:00 of the second period on a penalty shot. It was his first multigoal game this season.

"Here we were up 2-0, [the Panthers] need to open up and they need to change the way they're playing to get some opportunities, and we should be able to take advantage of that," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "But unfortunately, I think we were giving them the opporunities."

Mikkola responded to tie it 3-3 at 6:08 of the second when his centering pass for Evan Rodrigues on a 2-on-1 deflected in off the right pad of Pickard. Mikkola was able to carry the puck in on the rush after Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg tripped over a loose stick in the neutral zone.

“I have never seen anything like it," Mikkola said. "It was sort of a broken play at the red line. I think it hit a player or something. I tried to pass backdoor to Rodrigues but it went in. I’ll take it.

“It’s good that teammates trust you to jump on the play whenever you see it. We want one [defenseman] always up on the play. I like that.”

Stenlund gave Florida a 4-3 lead at 13:42 of the second on a rebound from the bottom of the right circle.

Sam Bennett scored into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.

“When you’re down 2-0, you’re thinking, ‘slow start,’ but I did not feel that,” Maurice said. “We hit a post, their guy made a great save at the other end. Both goaltenders made some incredible saves. There were not a lot of 'B' chances. There were a lot of 'As.' I thought we played a heck of a game in here tonight.”

NOTES: Mikkola entered the game with one goal on the season and six in 187 NHL games. … Panthers center Aleksander Barkov did not play after he collided with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe during a 2-1 win on Friday. Maurice said Barkov is day to day. ... Florida was 1-for-4 on the power play. Edmonton was 0-for-3. ... It was McDavid's third career goal on a penalty shot, the most in Oilers history.