With 29.83 hits per game, the Florida Panthers have easily been the most aggressive team in the 2024-25 season. And unlucky for the Edmonton Oilers, all that physicality seems to be slipping through even more in the Stanley Cup Finals. Or maybe it’s just the Cats’ way of intimidating Connor McDavid & Co. into retaining the Cup in Miami. However, the challengers aren’t ready to cave in just yet.

Game 3 between the Western and Eastern Conference champions was but a one-sided affair. From the moment the puck dropped, it was all Florida, and the Edmonton Oilers never looked to be in command of the game. Maybe that’s why Viktor Arvidsson got carried away and knocked Sergei Bobrovsky off his feet. But the hit also underscored something important: the Oilers are ready to meet the Cats’ aggression head-on.

In a YouTube upload by the official Edmonton Oilers account from June 10, Corey Perry, the lone goalscorer for the team in Game 3, was heard talking about how he and his teammates aren’t going to let the defending champions walk over them. On being asked if he noticed this year’s Stanley Cup Finals being even more physical than last year’s, Perry answered, “I don’t know. I mean, that’s the way you know they play. They play physical. We know that. I don’t know if it’s any more physical from last year to this year.”

The Edmonton Oilers winger further noted that this is just part and parcel of the game. After all, dropping gloves and brawls on the ice isn’t a sight that hockey fans are alien to. Perry also reiterated the same thoughts in his comments while talking with the reporters. “You know it’s just hockey and you know, it’s how we have to approach it,” Perry admitted that preparing for the Panthers wasn’t something very different from how the team tackles others.

But this could be considered cynicism on Perry’s part, though. After all, Game 3 was an intensely eventful one. With 140 minutes of penalties in the game, a long list of stars from both the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers’ roster got their names into the refs’ bad books. And yet, the visitors’ Evander Kane wasn’t pleased about how it seemed like it was Edmonton that got the brunt of the officials’ punishment. “Look at some of the calls and whatnot. Obviously, some of them are frustrating, you know. They seem to get away with it more than we do,” said Kane after the game, despite his giving away several penalties at the Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

To make things worse, the Cats admittedly have a roster that’s never shy to get into a brawl. From Matthew Tkachuk to Brad Marchand, the Panthers are built to fend off attacks in the best ways possible. That, coupled with the fact that Games 3 and 4 will give the defending champs the home ice advantage, it’s understandable why some Edmonton Oilers loyalists are feeling uneasy. But other factors are also causing concerns.

The Edmonton Oilers need to come up with an answer, and fast

The reigning Cup champs are on a roll ever since they reached the playoffs. Finishing the regular season in third place in the Pacific Division, the Panthers quickly regrouped and took down both of the top two teams from their division in the postseason. Even the Carolina Hurricanes, who defeated the mighty Washington Capitals in Round 2 of the playoffs, couldn’t hold a candle to the Cats in the Eastern Conference Finals. Naturally, the Edmonton Oilers had to up their game to handle the force that is Paul Maurice’s boys.

With the hope of making amends for the 4-3 series loss in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, the Edmonton Oilers also started things on a high note. Bagging a nail-biting 4-3 win thanks to Leon Draisaitl’s OT goal, things looked promising. But leave it to Brad Marchand to crush all hopes of his opponents. With two goals in Game 2 (one in OT), the Panthers’ winger tied the series with gusto.

The hefty loss in Game 3 only made the Oilers’ fans squeamish in their stomachs. Moreover, with team captain Connor McDavid yet to score his first goal in the Stanley Cup series, NHL pundits are also on the verge of losing their wits altogether. But can all these negative thoughts be cast aside when the two returning finalists meet for Game 4 on Thursday at the Cats’ backyard? What do you think?