The Oilers brought the home crowd to their feet early and often for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected another multi-point outing to begin the series and captain Connor McDavid overtook the postseason lead in points thanks to a multi-goal performance.
* The 2025 Conference Finals are averaging 6.5 goals per game and have done so thanks to back-to-back six-goal showings by the Panthers and Oilers, respectively, as well as five of six games played to date featuring a team score at least five goals.
* The reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers are one win away from joining elite company in NHL history with three consecutive berths into the Final, but the Hurricanes have other plans and have their sights set on erasing a 3-0 series deficit to keep their Cup aspirations alive.
OILERS OFFENSE AND SKINNER’S SAVES VAULT OILERS TO 2-1 SERIES LEAD
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (0-3—3) continued his productive series early by factoring on two Oilers goals in a 36-second span in the first period, then Edmonton would go on to add four more tallies throughout the contest thanks to contributions from Connor McDavid (2-0—2) and another stout performance from Stuart Skinner (33 saves). The Oilers, who listened to the Rogers Place crowd get as loud as 114 decibels throughout the contest, own an all-time series record of 21-3 (.875) when leading a best-of-seven series 2-1, including a 3-0 (1.000) record in the Conference Finals/Semifinals.
* Nugent-Hopkins has recorded at least two points in each of the first three games of the 2025 Western Conference Final. He joined Wayne Gretzky (5 GP in 1988 CF, 4 GP in 1983 CF & 3 GP in 1984 CF) as the second player in franchise history with a run of that length to begin a Conference Finals/Semifinal series.
* McDavid, who took the outright scoring lead in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs (5-17—22 in 14 GP), notched his 44th career multi-point postseason game and broke a tie with Brad Marchand (43) for the fourth most among active players behind Sidney Crosby (67), Evgeni Malkin (53) and Nikita Kucherov (48).
* Skinner came off a Game 2 shutout and had allowed zero goals through his first three wins of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite conceding one tonight, he became the fifth goaltender in the NHL’s modern era (since 1944) to allow one goal or fewer through his first four wins of a playoff year, joining Ilya Bryzgalov (1 GA in 2006), Ed Belfour (1 GA in 2004), Patrick Lalime (1 GA in 2002) and Felix Potvin (1 GA in 1994).
OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS CONTINUE IN CONFERENCE FINALS
The 2025 Conference Finals featured an offensive outburst for the second time in as many games as the Oilers scored six goals a day after the Panthers skated to a 3-0 series lead against the Hurricanes with a six-goal showing of their own. Overall, five of the six games played in the 2025 Conference Finals have featured one team find the back of the net at least five times.
Did You Know? The 2025 Conference Finals are averaging 6.5 goals per game. It currently sits tied with 2022 for the second-highest average in that round in the past 30 years. Only the 2014 Conference Finals (6.6 G/GP) had a higher rate during that span.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates for May 25, 2025
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* Sam Reinhart not ruled out by Panthers for Game 4 of East Final against Hurricanes
* U.S. wins 2025 IIHF championship, brings Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey to collect trophy
PANTHERS TAKE AIM AT ADVANCING TO FINAL, HURRICANES TO STAVE OFF ELIMINATION
The Eastern Conference Final returns Monday night when the Panthers can clinch their third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance, while the Hurricanes will aim to evade elimination and take their first step towards evening the series.
* The Panthers, with at least five goals in each of their past four games, are one win away from their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance when the puck drops for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final tonight. Florida has outscored opponents by a 61-33 margin this postseason and own a plus-28 goal differential, which would be the highest by a team entering the Final since the Mark Messier-led 1994 Rangers (+29).
* Sam Bennett (9-5—14 in 15 GP) is set to appear in his 100th career playoff game and has led the Panthers in goals this postseason (tied with Mikko Rantanen for the League lead) – a total that includes three goals through the Eastern Conference Final. Should Bennett find the back of the net in Game 4, he would become the fifth player in franchise history to hit a double-digit goal total in a single postseason. Bennett would join Matthew Tkachuk (11 in 2023), Carter Verhaeghe (11 in 2024), Sam Reinhart (10 in 2024) and Dave Lowry (10 in 1996).
* Seth Jarvis (5-8—13 in 13 GP) is leading his team in points through the Eastern Conference Final, while operating at a point-per-game pace, and will aim to help the Hurricanes become the fifth team in NHL history to win a playoff round after facing a 3-0 series deficit. Carolina would join the 2014 Kings (R1 vs. SJS), 2010 Flyers (CSF vs. BOS), 1975 Islanders (QF vs. PIT) and 1942 Maple Leafs (SCF vs. DET).
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* The Hurricanes are the first team to face a 3-0 series deficit against the Panthers since the Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton evaded elimination in three consecutive contests to force a winner-take-all Game 7 before falling in the seventh-and-deciding contest.-25014849.png)
