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The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 on the road, 5-2, for their NHL-record-tying 10th victory away from home this postseason. With that victory, Florida is just one win away from back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. They will play for the title tonight at home at 8 pm ET.
After losing in overtime in Game 1, the Panthers have taken three-of-four from Edmonton and now stand two wins from becoming just the third franchise this century – joining the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning – to repeat as champions.
Edmonton, meanwhile, is just one loss away from extending its own and Canada’s misery. The Oilers have not won a Stanley Cup since 1990. This is the franchise’s third appearance in the final since winning five cups in seven years and dominating the league in the back half of the 1980s. If Edmonton loses, they would be the first club since the 1977-78 Boston Bruins to lose in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years. Meanwhile, no Canadian franchise has hoisted the cup since 1993.
Let’s break down each team’s Game 5 performance while previewing the Game 6 matchup with our Oilers @ Panthers NHL pick.
After winning Game 1 in overtime, the Oilers stood at 7-1 at home in the playoffs. The Oilers proceeded to lose a heartbreaking Game 2, also in overtime, before being thoroughly dominated at Rogers Place on Saturday, 5-2. Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored, while Leon Draisatl, Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse each had assists.
Draisatl (11 goals and 22 assists) and McDavid (7 goals and 26 assists) lead the NHL with 33 playoff points apiece, with defenseman Evan Bouchard (7 goals and 16 assists) third with 23 points. They have combined for 6 goals and 15 assists in this series, which is nothing to snooze at but hasn’t kept the Oilers from getting outscored in this series, 23-16.
Perry now has 10 goals in the playoffs. Calvin Pickard made just 14 saves while allowing four goals in Game 5 after coming on in relief of Stuart Skinner and getting the win in Game 4. That is the first loss this postseason for Pickard, who fell to 7-1, and he didn’t get any help from the power play, as Edmonton went 0-3.
Brad Marchand continued to sparkle in this series, tallying 2 goals to pace the Panthers in Game 5. He now has 6 goals in the series and 10 in the postseason to go with 10 assists. According to ESPN.com, Marchand became the second player in the past 50 years to score 5+ goals in a final multiple times, joining former Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.
While Marchand continues to emulate his younger days with the Boston Bruins, Sam Bennett has become as reliable as they come on offense for Florida. He scored a goal for the fifth time in the last six games and leads the Panthers with 15 goals and 22 points in the playoffs. Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart added a tally as well.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves and allowed just 2 goals as Florida improved to 10-3 away from Sunrise this postseason. However, the team is just 5-4 at home in Amerant Bank Arena.
Last year’s series went the distance after Edmonton recovered from a 3-0 hole, only to lose Game 7. The Oilers can force another winner-take-all Game 7 with a win. To do so, they will need to stop Marchand and Bennett again on the road.
That seems easier to do this postseason than keep them in check at home. Only five of Marchand and Bennett’s 25 goals have come at home this postseason. The two combined for 2 goals and an assist in Games 3 and 4 in Sunrise.
The Oilers may be able to keep Bennett at bay, but Marchand is feeling it right now. The two-time All-Star wants a second Stanley Cup to go with his 2011 title in Boston. He and his Bruins teammates came up short two more times. Marchand does not want to lose the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight time. Look for him to tally 1+ goals tonight.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.