The Florida Panthers smoked the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. After a dismal Game 4 collapse, Florida stomped on Edmonton to regain the series lead. Panthers forward Sam Bennett scored another goal and spoke with NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika about his team's success in Game 5.
“I think it was just more composure — not thinking ahead, just thinking shift by shift,” Bennett said, contrasting Games 4 and 5. “We did a much better job tonight. We knew they were going to push. They pushed, and our PK did a phenomenal job. Yeah, just more composed tonight.”
Bennett was asked how the Panthers kept that composure. “We’ve learned a lot through the last three seasons and especially this year. We learn from our losses, and that’s pretty much all you can do. You take the good after the wins, and you learn after the losses. We learned from that last game, and it paid off tonight.”
Article Continues BelowBennett and Brad Marchand are both having historically great postseasons for the Panthers. They both scored on Saturday, with Marchand netting two, to bring Florida one win away from their second consecutive title. But the Oilers are in a familiar position and won't be going down easily.
Last year, the Panthers took a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers won three straight games, including Game 5 in Florida, to stave off elimination. But when Game 7 came around, the Panthers found a way in a 2-1 win on home ice. Both teams will enter Game 6 knowing they have had success in this exact spot before. Bennett and Marchand will be the key for Florida, and stopping them will be the key for Edmonton.
The Panthers can win their second consecutive Stanley Cup against the Oilers on Tuesday night at 8:00. Can they close it out in Game 6?