Oilers shut out by Panthers, lose seventh straight
Bobrovsky makes 40 saves, Barkov has two goals, assist for Florida
Aleksander Barkov had two goals and an assist for Florida (27-8-5), which has won nine of its past 11 games (9-1-1).
"We came out a little slow tonight, but [Bobrovsky] was dialed in right from the start," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "He made huge saves for us all night long, he kept us in the game and we finally got our feet under us later in the game and started to play a little better."
Mikko Koskinen made 22 saves for Edmonton (18-16-2), which has lost seven straight (0-5-2).
"This is a true test of leadership," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "It's easy to be a leader when you're 9-1 or 16-5, it's easy to lead a team and be the 'rah-rah' guy. This right here, getting out of this is a test for all our leaders on our team. Getting out of this is what's going to make our team better. You have to show up every day with your hardhat on, that's the only way to get out of this."
The Panthers were outshot 17-7 in the first period and 12-6 in the second.
Bobrovsky made 11 saves in the third period in his 35th NHL shutout and first since Nov. 2, 2019 (4-0 against the Detroit Red Wings).
"I thought the opponent came with a strong start, they were pretty fast, they have a good team, but we worked together," Bobrovsky said. "The guys had timely blocked shots, they helped a lot on the D-zone, so it's a great six-people effort in the first period and the whole game long, and it's definitely fun to be part of it."
Barkov scored on the power play at 5:28 of the second period to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. He took a cross-crease pass from Jonathan Huberdeau lifted over Nurse and scored on the short side.
Verhaeghe made it 2-0 at 8:07. He took a pass from Brandon Montour from behind the net and scored from the top of the left face-off circle.
Barkov scored his second at 7:13 of the third period, on a shot from just inside the blue line through traffic, to make it 3-0.
"I didn't like our start at all," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "We knew we were coming into a desperate situation, and you have to hand it to them too, they played really well in that first period," "We maybe weren't as sharp, but it was maybe more what they were doing. We competed a lot harder in the second and we took over the game. [Bobrovsky] was outstanding in the first period, and through the whole game and that gave us a chance to win here tonight."
Anthony Duclair left the game momentarily after crashing into the boards at 15:33 of the second period but returned and scored on the power play at 16:54 of the third to make it 4-0. Sam Bennett made it 5-0 on the power play at 16:54.
"Losing [stinks], you have to keep powering through it," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "We worked all week and a lot of the game, we worked, we just didn't get any results for our work. Then we got behind and we got chasing."
Owen Tippett made it 6-0 at 18:16, taking a return pass from Maxim Mamin and scoring from the slot.
"We had a good start and then they get the lead and then we're chasing it," Oilers defenseman Duncan Keith said. "No matter who you're playing and what game you're in, it's always hard playing from behind. The way things are going right now, it's been tough, it's frustrating, but at the end of the day, it's going to have to be us in there that pull it together and find a way to stick in those games and keep it close."
NOTES: Oilers forward Zach Hyman was placed on non-roster injured reserve. … Florida leads the NHL with 165 goals this season (including one shootout-deciding goal), which mark its most through 40 games in any season. Only four teams have scored as many goals through 40 games in a season since 1993-94, when the Panthers joined the NHL: the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96 (194), the Detroit Red Wings in 1993-94 (183), the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19 (168) and the Ottawa Senators in 2005-06 (167). … Bobrovsky is 8-0-1 in his past nine games.
