Oilers panic meter: Should Edmonton be worried after Game 3 no-show?

It took the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers nearly 70 minutes of game action to finally settle things in an instantly iconic Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final over the weekend. Game 3, by contrast, felt like it was over after less than one.

The red-hot Brad Marchand opened the scoring for Florida just 56 seconds into the contest, and while the scoreline wouldn't get truly ugly until later on, it felt like the Panthers never looked back en route to a 6-1 win. Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart each added a goal and an assist each for Florida, which dominated the rest of the second period after Corey Perry pulled the Oilers back within a goal within the opening two minutes.

In the end, it'll be easy for the Oilers to just shake this off as one game in what still figures to be a very long series. Heck, they even have some history on their side: Since the salary cap era began in 2005, only eight of the last 19 Stanley Cup winners have won Game 3 of the Final. Last year, Edmonton won Game 3 by a score of 5-3 over Florida, and we all know how that series turned out.

But not all losses are created equal. And while Edmonton can wash this taste out of its mouth with a better performance in Game 4 on Thursday, it was the way they lost in Game 3 that feels like it might linger over the rest of this series.

Should Game 3 blowout give Oilers reason to be concerned in Stanley Cup Final?

From the opening faceoff, Florida came out seemingly determined to punch the Oilers in the mouth. And punch they did: The Panthers exerted themselves on this game for a full 60 minutes, getting back to the physical brand of hockey that had eluded them over Games 1 and 2. Look no further than Aaron Ekblad's crushing open-ice hit on Connor McDavid, the same man he'd referred to as "McJesus" after he waltzed through Florida's defense just a few days ago.

All that physicality didn't just make it tough for the Oilers to score. It also seemed to rattle them mentally: Edmonton was called for three offensive-zone fouls plus a too-many-men penalty all in the first period, with Evander Kane sent to the box twice in the first eight minutes. The Oilers wound up conceding 10 power plays in all; it's hard to beat anyone that way, much less the defending Stanley Cup champs.

By the end of the third, with the game well out of reach, it felt like Florida had gotten under the Oilers' skin, with Trent Frederic going after Public Enemy No. 1 Sam Bennett.

Again: All it takes is a win in Game 4 to make all of this a distant memory. But it wasn't just that the Oilers laid a dud in the Stanley Cup Final; they seemed to be the weaker team, both physically and emotionally, in ways that can't help but be disturbing if you're an Edmonton fan. The Oilers had up to this point managed to force Florida to play their brand of hockey; Game 3 was a significant departure, and if that keeps up, maybe this won't be such a long series after all.