Panthers One Step Away From Championship After Defeating Oilers in Game 5
Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals series between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers made two possible scenarios clear: victory bringing a team closer to the title or the hope of forcing a seventh game. The Panthers, the current champions, won 5-2 on Saturday, leaving them one victory away from retaining their crown.
Florida Panthers
Grade: B+
The game unfolded according to the Panthers’ plan: puck control, positional dominance, capitalizing on the power play, and limiting the Oilers’ dangerous scoring chances. The Panthers restricted the Oilers to only three high-danger opportunities, a significant achievement considering they entered Game 5 as the second team with the most such opportunities per 60 minutes this postseason. The two-goal advantage in the first period made Sergei Bobrovsky’s job easier, as he made the necessary saves without being overwhelmed, thanks to the Panthers’ ability to avoid dangerous opportunities and the concentration of shots. Although Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored to bring the Oilers closer, the Panthers made it difficult to create scoring chances in key areas. They managed to withstand the third-period attack, which included 10 shots on goal. Winning 10 away games is one of the main reasons the Panthers are one win away from another Stanley Cup title. It remains to be analyzed whether this was their most resounding victory as visitors or the most crucial of the postseason.Edmonton Oilers
Grade: B-
The Oilers started Game 5 by allowing multiple goals in the first period, without scoring. This defensive weakness, which contrasted with their performance in the Western Conference, where they eliminated two teams that led in goals per game, took its toll. It’s already the seventh time in 13 periods of this series that the Oilers have conceded more than two goals.
Despite their previous comebacks, the Oilers failed to find cohesion in this game. Although they had opportunities, such as three power-play opportunities in the first two periods, they failed to score and only managed four shots on goal. In total, the Oilers generated two high-danger chances and a 37.8% shot possession, with only 11 total shots entering the third period. McDavid’s goal and another by Perry brought the Oilers within two goals on several occasions. However, Eetu Luostarinen’s empty-net goal sealed the match. The key question for the Oilers is: How would Game 5 have been if they hadn’t conceded multiple goals at the start?The three stars of Game 5 by Arda Öcal
- Brad Marchand, LW, Panthers: Excellent performance, with two goals, including another great effort that put the Cats up 3-0. It’s his sixth goal in this final, the most for a player since Esa Tikkanen in 1988. It’s goal number 13 at 5-on-5 for the Marchand-Esa Lundell-Eetu Luostarinen line.
- Sam Bennett, C, Panthers: He continued his away goal streak with his 15th postseason goal and 13th away from home. Bennett became the fifth player in NHL history to record a six-game streak with goals on the road in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
- Sam Reinhart, RW, Panthers: His goal in the third period was his seventh of the postseason, putting the score at 4-1. This goal was the Panthers’ 60th as visitors this postseason, 11 more than any other team in a single year in Stanley Cup playoff history.
Players to Watch in Game 6
Brad Marchand, LW, Panthers
His performance in Game 5, with two goals, reinforces Marchand’s importance to the Panthers. With 10 goals and 20 points this postseason, he is shaping up as a strong candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP. His production could be key for the Panthers to win another title, and could also increase his value in free agency. What made Marchand attractive in the trade market was that he is a proven winner with an expiring contract. If he is one win away from being a two-time Stanley Cup champion and has played a crucial role in the Panthers’ victory, the Panthers’ management will have to make a difficult decision in an offseason in which Marchand is part of a class of eight unrestricted free agents that also includes Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad.Connor McDavid, C, Oilers
After scoring his first goal in the Cup final, will Game 5 be the starting point for the best player on the planet to score more goals in what could be his team’s last game of the season?Let’s remember what McDavid did in last year’s final in Games 4 and 5. McDavid might have played his best hockey when he helped the Oilers come back in the series, starting with the goal and three assists he had in Game 4, followed by another four-point effort with two goals and two assists in Game 5.
One of the reasons the Oilers are in a second consecutive final is their reliance on deep scoring that has made them more than just their pair of generational superstars, knowing that Leon Draisaitl and McDavid can explode at any moment. Can the Oilers find a way to make that scoring depth work for them again, in addition to Draisaitl and McDavid? Or will they need another signature performance from their dynamic duo to force a Game 7?Here are some of the questions that could determine whether the Oilers can pull off another comeback, force a Game 7, win their first Cup since 1990… or be forced to think about another campaign where they were close, but fell short.
Big Questions for Game 6
Will the Oilers be able to repeat what they did last year and force a Game 7?
Much has been said, and will continue to be said, about how the Oilers aren’t really out of the series, due to the way they forced a Game 7 last year and almost pulled off the improbable after falling into a 3-0 hole. But, what must happen for them to force another game?Game 5 began as a repeat of Game 4, as after conceding an initial multiple-goal period, the Oilers only conceded one goal and seemed to find defensive consistency. So, how can they find a way to put together the kind of defensive effort that prevents the Panthers from having another multiple-goal period, while generating more offensive production than they had in Game 5? That’s the big question facing the Oilers in what could be their last game of the season or their penultimate game of the season.
Will the Panthers be able to close out the Cup final on the first try? If there’s a team that knows how dangerous the Oilers are when facing elimination, it’s the Panthers. What we’ve seen from the Oilers this postseason is not only their ability to come back in a series, but their ability to shut down a team because they know all the signs of a possible comeback.Something we’ve seen from the Panthers this postseason is that opponents have found ways to stay alive. Go back to the second round, when the Panthers seemed to gain all the momentum against the Toronto Maple Leafs before the Leafs used a 2-0 win in Game 6 to force a Game 7. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Carolina Hurricanes had also lost three straight, but rallied to win Game 4.
Granted, the Panthers would win both series. But it creates some intrigue as to whether the Panthers will win at home or be forced to return to Edmonton.
