SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers fought hard but couldn’t dig themselves out of a deep early hole in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Falling to 11-9-1, the Panthers trailed 4-1 before eventually making it a 4-3 game.

Despite that strong push, the Oilers pulled away with two late empty-net goals.

“After they got a couple quick ones, we fought back and we played a pretty solid rest of the game,” forward Sam Bennett said of Florida’s determination in defeat. “We just couldn’t quite get that last one. It was a good push, but we just didn’t have quite enough.”

A late scratch, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad missed tonight’s game for the Panthers due to an illness.

“We expect him to travel with us tomorrow,” head coach Paul Maurice said.

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