Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
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It was a night that started with so much promise and ended with Edmonton Oilers fans disappointed after a 5-2 loss to Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday.
In the first five minutes of the game at Rogers Place it felt like Edmonton was keeping up, but that was before Brad Marchand notched his ninth goal of the playoffs as the Panthers began their onslaught.
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Florida continued to come in waves, shift after shift, whether it was grinding out battles in front of the net or causing turnovers in the neutral zone.
Then Panthers centre Sam Bennett also found the back of the net for his 15th goal of the playoffs, giving Florida a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
That score held through the second period, meaning Florida then just needed to survive 20 minutes to take the crucial 3-2 series lead.
Marchand then extended the lead to 3-0 but Connor McDavid knocked the monkey off his back as he beat Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky for his first goal in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Florida’s Sam Reinhart quickly responded, however, making the score 4-1.
A Corey Perry goal offered some hope but was then answered by Panther Eetu Luostarinen, making a final score of 5-2.
“I’m sad, it was a hard watch,” said Oilers fan Shea Caudron, watching the game at Sports on Tap in Saskatoon, where the only cheers in the bar were for when the Roughriders scored in their CFL game in Hamilton against the Ti-Cats.
Now the Oilers find themselves with their backs against the wall, a position they are familiar with as they fell to 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 to the Panthers.
The experience from last year is helping fuel some confidence for fans despite the pain.
“I think they’re going to play their best game in Game 6,” said Eric Roy, also watching the game at Sports on Tap. “They have to bring it back, hopefully to Game 7.”
Fellow fan Devyn Gregoire agreed but with less optimism. “I think it’s going to be a tough battle.”
Looking to the crucial Game 6, fans were felling nervous.
“Not really confident, more nervous than anything,” said Roy. “I just don’t want to feel that heartbreak again of losing another Cup.”
“I’m not that confident, that (Game 5) kind of killed my confidence,” said Caudron. “I thought we were going to come back and lead the series.”
Now Edmonton travels to Sunrise, Florida, where the team has their work cut out for them.
“Now you have to go win one on the road, and then come back to Edmonton,” said Gregoire. “Do (the Oilers) do it? I don’t think so.”
Game 6 is Tuesday, with Florida looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions on home ice at Amerant Bank Arena at 6 p.m.
— with files from Will Mandzuk
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