Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers had another chance to lift the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night. This time, they could win it in front of their home fans. However, they once again failed to overcome the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. Connor McDavid scored four points to give him 42 on the postseason as Edmonton forced Game 6.
Florida found some life halfway through the game. But at the beginning, one would be forgiven for thinking the Oilers were one win from the Stanley Cup. The Panthers came out flat, failing to record a shot in the final 14 minutes of the opening period. And they fell into a 3-0 deficit in the second period once Edmonton found its stride.
Tkachuk addressed the media on Tuesday night. He felt his team put in a good effort early in the first period. However, he acknowledged that things fell apart after that.
“It was a similar start to Game 4 with giving up the shorty there, which is just unacceptable. We've got to start better. I thought our start was good, but we just gave one up and then we were trailing,” the Panthers star said, via The Palm Beach Post.
Matthew Tkachuk nearly saves Game 5
The Panthers began coming to life after going down 3-0 in the second period. They received a jolt of energy thanks to Tkachuk, as well. He took control of the puck after Edmonton turned it over in their zone. And he fired a shot past Stuart Skinner to cut the Oilers lead to two goals.
Edmonton ended up regaining their three-goal lead thanks to Corey Perry. However, that three-goal lead was extremely short-lived. Evan Rodrigues scored his fourth goal of the Stanley Cup Final to make it 4-2. In the third period, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored to make it 4-3. All of a sudden, Florida was closing in on the Oilers.
That said, Edmonton seemed to thrive under that kind of pressure. Skinner stood tall in goal and the Oilers limited the chances the Panthers received. Florida pulled their goalie late in the game, and the contest was nearly saved by Matthew Tkachuk. Unfortunately, his remarkable individual effort was all for naught.
The Oilers skated away with a 5-3 win. Edmonton succeeded in its mission to drag Florida back to Alberta for Game 6. And the stage is set for a thrilling conclusion to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Panthers are losing control of Stanley Cup Final
Florida was the better team through the first two games of this Stanley Cup Final. In fact, one could argue they were the only team that truly showed up ready to play. The Panthers held the Oilers to one goal through the first two games of this matchup.
Lately, though, the series has flipped on its head. The Oilers have played better hockey over the last seven periods. They scored nine consecutive goals before Matthew Tkachuk's marker in the second period. And they scored 13 of the previous 14 goals at one point.
Even Edmonton's power play struggled early in the series. To some extent, it still isn't playing at the level it had before the Stanley Cup Final. But now the Oilers have three power-play goals in their last two games. They went 2-for-5 on the man advantage on Tuesday night.
Florida established early control of this series, but it is starting to slip away. Their goaltending is shaky, and they are beginning to have trouble killing off the penalties they take. If this continues, the Panthers may see their season end in heartbreaking fashion against the Oilers.
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