The Florida Panthers know that the pressure is on in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the series, but has let Edmonton crawl back in with two wins in a row. Game 6 takes place in Edmonton, so the Panthers are aware that the Oilers will be fighting as hard as possible. Head coach Paul Maurice shares how that could actually be a good thing for the Panthers.
“When you have nothing to lose, there's a freedom to that. When you have something to protect, sometimes you feel the pressure to protect it,” said Maurice on Thursday, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. “So there's an evening out in this series now. I think the pressure is closer [between us].”
Maurice added that getting closer to the end of the series can help even things out as well.
“The stake is there now more for both teams, where it was just for us,” Maurice said. “The goal is closer now for them and now that part evens out, I believe.”
The Panthers do have plenty of reasons for optimism. Although they lost Game 5 by a score of 5-3, they were in control for huge stretches of the game. In fact, Florida had over 80% of the shot attempts in the final two periods. If they can keep that pace up, eventually luck will break their way.
And they only need it to happen once to win the Stanley Cup.
Previewing Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final: Can Florida put Edmonton away in front of Oilers' home crowd?
The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is becoming a tight series.
Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk is not worried. He believes that Florida is a team of destiny who will win because of their dominant play.
“We are that team. I mean, we've been that team all year,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk of his team's dominant 5-on-5 play. “We had a little bit of a lapse in Game 4 here for a period and a half. But for the most part, we've been pretty consistent with it. We really like our 5-on-5 game. We're comfortable against anybody in the world with it.”
Panthers fans should be confident too. Florida has a track record of winnings playoff series when up 3-0. In fact, they are on a four series win streak when they gain a 3-0 lead.
Sergei Bobrovsky will need to get back to his dominance from early in the series for Florida to get the win. Since Game 4, Bobrovsky has a 0.769 save percentage and a horrible 6.56 goals-against average. He is due for some positive regression, the question is will it come soon enough.
If the Oilers can force a Game 7, they will be the 10th team in NHL history to force Game 7 after being down 3-0. Of the first nine teams, the team coming back from 3-0 only won four times. That is a small sample size, but it does bode well for the Panthers.
The experts at The Athletic lean towards picking the Panthers to end the series in Game 6.
We can't wait to see what happens in Game 6. The puck drops at 8PM ET in Edmonton.
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