The Edmonton Oilers were riding high after their 8-1 win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, as we saw in the NBA Finals, it's easy for the home team to bounce back in Game 5. History didn't repeat itself in the NHL, as the Oilers stole another win on the road to force a Game 6 in what will be a raucous Rogers Place in Edmonton. Let's look at who is most to blame for the Florida Panthers' 5-3 loss to the Oilers.
The Oilers continued their domination over the Panthers, scoring the first three goals of this game to go up 3-0. Connor Brown opened the scoring short-handed, then Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid added the insurance markers. The Panthers kept it interesting by scoring soon after the Oilers' third and fourth goals, but Edmonton entered the third period with a 4-2 lead.
Corey Perry scored the fourth goal for the Oilers on one of the best individual plays of the playoffs by Connor McDavid. McDavid deked through three defenders before sliding the puck over to Perry. Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues answered for the Panthers. The Panthers came out with a vengeance, taking the play to the Oilers in the third period. They had extended offensive zone time early in the frame, which led to an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal to make it a 4-3 game.
The comeback wasn't in the cards for the Panthers, as Connor McDavid iced the game with an empty-netter. The goal made it McDavid's second consecutive four-point game. Edmonton is now in the driver's seat to force a Game 7 and try to become the second team in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win in the Stanley Cup Final.
Panthers are taking too many penalties
The worry for the Panthers entering the series was how they led the league in penalty minutes during the postseason. The Oilers have one of the most efficient powerplays in NHL history, but the Panthers got lucky that the Oilers struggled during the first couple of games. They even struggled to score in the 8-1 win in Game 4, going just 1/6 with the man advantage.
It felt like a matter of time before they'd break through, which they did with two goals on five opportunities in Game 5. The powerplay goals made it 2-0 and 4-1 at separate times in the game, which were crucial moments for the Oilers to pad their lead.
Were some of the penalties weak by NHL playoff standards? Yes, but when facing an offensive team like the Oilers, you can't do anything to give them a chance to draw a penalty. The Oilers have a keen ability to get hit with an errant stick or illegal hit that can get them a powerplay.
The Oilers didn't score on their final powerplay. However, the undisciplined tripping penalty that Dmitry Kulikov took with less than eight minutes remaining was even more to blame, as it killed two minutes off the clock and tons of momentum for the Panthers.
Panthers stars come out flat to begin
The intensity the Panthers had in the first period was shocking. Paul Maurice usually excels at having his players ready to go to battle, and the Panthers have a team that loves to fight and claw. The battle level for the Panthers' emotional leaders in the first period wasn't good enough for a possible Stanley Cup-clinching game. They had just six shots in the first period, and by the time they started pouring pucks on the net (shots were 32-24 Florida in the end), it was too late.
It took the Oilers going up 3-0 for the Panthers to finally start playing winning hockey, which won't be good enough with the series going back to Edmonton. If the Panthers have the same start in Game 6, we will likely see a Game 7 to decide the champion.
Sergei Bobrovsky loses the goaltending battle again
It's hard to keep blaming Bobrovsky, but he is among the most to blame for the Panthers. They were supposed to be winning the goaltending battle, as there were plenty of critics for Stuart Skinner. He has proven all those critics wrong, outdueling Bobrovsky in two straight games to put the Oilers on the brink of a Game 7.
The Panthers didn't give Bobrovsky much support at the beginning of the game, but he'd like to have a few goals from the third period back. It's hard to see the Panthers winning another game if Bobrovsky can't find a way to shut down McDavid and the Oilers' offense. The Panthers need him to find his form for 60 more minutes over one of the next two games to win their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.
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