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EDMONTON, Alberta — The Florida Panthers did in fact make it to Edmonton on Wednesday after travel delays, and they were rather amused with all the concern ahead of Thursday’s 4-3 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“It’s just so funny how everything gets so magnified in the Cup finals,” Panthers forward Kyle Okposo said during Thursday morning’s skate. “This happens four times a year to every team in the regular season and nobody says anything. And now it’s like, ‘Oh my God, they’re not going to be able to play!'”

Torrential rain in South Florida on Wednesday caused massive flooding and significant travel delays, including the Panthers’ charter flight to Edmonton, which was delayed for a few hours. Fans and media were tracking the flight online to see when it could get to Edmonton. It landed in the 8 p.m. hour locally — about two hours after the team was scheduled to do interviews at the Edmonton Oilers‘ arena.

“I think we always knew we would get out at some point, whether we got in at 2 in the morning or whatever. We were going to get here,” Okposo said. “Everybody was just kind of having fun with it, honestly.”

Unbeknownst to players, even the Edmonton air traffic controllers were getting in on the fun. One jokingly told the pilots of the Panthers’ charter that there would be a “two-hour hold or whatever it would take for you to be low enough in fuel to have to divert from Edmonton.”

Rather than immediately fly to Edmonton after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, the Panthers opted to remain in South Florida — despite weather forecasts that predicted significant rain for Wednesday.

“We pay a bunch of really smart people to have better answers than we do,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “This is the way we do it, and there are reasons for it, and I’m 100% good with it. At no point when a guy gets a cold do they come to see me on how they should fix it.

“We spent an hour at our rink, a little longer. We sat there, and our chef is unbelievable. The coaches put on 7 pounds yesterday. That’s the only ramification.”

Once on the plane, the Panthers spent an extra 90 minutes on the tarmac, Maurice said. The players passed the time as they usually do on trips: watching movies, catching up on sleep and playing cards.

“We love adversity. We got some more team bonding time. It was fun,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We had some guys go behind the scenes to do things that usually don’t [happen] to get us off the ground, and happy to finally take off, obviously.

“It was either we would be sitting on the plane or we were going to get here and go to the lounge and hang out together. So it made no difference for us.”

The Panthers, who have a 2-0 lead over the Oilers, said the delay did nothing to interrupt their Game 3 preparations.

“No, not at all,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “We got to practice in the morning, and I got like nine hours of sleep last night, so it was great.”

Added forward Matthew Tkachuk: “It wasn’t that big of a deal, to be completely honest with you. … I think most guys did something when they got to the hotel: pool, bike, whatever. I mean, it was a long flight. By the time you get to the hotel, you just do that and you go right to bed.”

Maurice did acknowledge the severity of the weather in South Florida.

“I’m joking around with that, but there’s some people who are struggling right now in Florida with the flooding,” he said. “So it’s a serious thing that happened there. But our day was not serious.”

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Follow live: Kings look to take 3-0 series lead vs. Oilers

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens lost their starting goalies because of injuries in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday night.

Canadiens starter Sam Montembeault was replaced by rookie Jakub Dobes, who made his playoff debut, in the second period. Capitals starter Logan Thompson left late in the third period after a collision with teammate Dylan Strome.

The Canadiens won 6-3 to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Montembeault left the crease with 8:21 remaining in the second period and the score tied 2-2. Replays showed him reaching for the back of his left leg after making a save on Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev. Montembeault had stopped 11 of 13 shots. For the series, he stopped 58 of 63 shots (.921 save percentage) with a 2.49 goals-against average.

Dobes, 23, was 7-4-3 in 16 games for the Canadiens in the regular season with a .909 save percentage. Dobes had a win over the Capitals on Jan. 10, stopping 15 shots in a 3-2 overtime win.

Thompson was helped from the ice by a trainer and teammates after Strome collided with him with 6:37 left in regulation right after Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky made it a 5-3 Montreal lead. Thompson attempted to skate off on his own but couldn’t put weight down on his left leg.

Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson, who had been outstanding for the Capitals in the first two games of the series, winning both with a .951 save percentage and a 1.47 goals-against average. He made 30 saves on 35 shots in Game 3.

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