One game after blowing a big lead in the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers figured out a solution: put on a defensive gem.
The Panthers shut down the Edmonton Oilers for much of Game 5, allowing only Connor McDavid’s first goal of the series and Corey Perry’s late goal, to win 5-2 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Florida can clinch its second consecutive Stanley Cup title with a home victory in Game 6 on Tuesday, June 17. Game 7, if necessary, would be Friday, June 20, in Edmonton.
Brad Marchand helped the Panthers to a 3-0 lead with spectacular goals in the first and third period. He split the defense on the first goal and made a nifty move around Jake Walman on the other one.
“What he can do under duress in a small area is world-class,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s as good as I’ve seen.”
Sam Bennett (15th goal) and Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida, and Eetu Luostarinen added an empty-netter.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch gave Calvin Pickard the Game 5 start after his solid play in relief helped the Oilers rally from a 3-0 deficit for a Game 4 overtime win. Knoblauch will have to make a decision between Stuart Skinner and Pickard before the next game with Edmonton’s season on the line.
“From what I saw, Picks didn’t have much chance on those goals: Breakaways, shots through screens, slot shots,” he said. “There’s nothing saying that it was a poor performance.”
Highlights from Game 5 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers:
The Panthers play a perfect road game to take a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Brad Marchand (two goals) was key on offense, but the Panthers also were solid on defense, holding Edmonton to 21 shots.
The Panthers celebrate the victory by shooting plastic rats at Marchand.
Eetu Luostarinen scores into the empty net with a long shot from his defensive zone.
Edmonton has extra skater. There’s 1:39 left.
Oilers have an extra skater again and Corey Perry scores on a slap shot from the point.
Oilers have an extra skater.
Aleksander Barkov finds Sam Reinhart alone in the faceoff circle as the Panthers restore their three-goal lead.
Connor McDavid scores his first goal of the series with some stickhandling after a nice pass from Evan Bouchard.
Another spectacular move by Brad Marchand. He gets around Jake Walman and then beats Calvin Pickard.
Still no shots for Edmonton in this period.
Panthers on power play to start. That’s killed off.
A rare scoreless period in this series. Edmonton shows more life. Two power plays will do that. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is using the nuclear option of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together. McDavid has no shots on goal, though he did hit the post. Florida’s Gustav Forsling makes some good defensive plays. Shots are 13-11 Panthers through two periods.
Leon Draisaitl high sticks Dmitry Kulikov with 20 seconds left in the second period. There will be a 1:40 carryover in the third period.
Oilers have their stars on the same line. Edmonton takes the lead in shots.
Sam Reinhart clears the puck from his zone but it goes over the glass for a delay of game penalty. Edmonton got good looks on its first power play. Connor McDavid hits the post. Florida kills the rest. Edmonton gets two shots and is a 0-for-3 on the power.
Gustav Forsling loses the puck to Evander Kane, who is tripped by Aaron Ekblad. Florida kills it off. Sergei Bobrovsky makes back-to-back saves on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry.
Oilers kill off the rest of the Panthers power play.
In both of their wins in this series, the Oilers were trailing after the first period. They were down 3-0 in Game 4.
Another strong first period by the Panthers. They’ve outscored the Oilers 7-0 in the first period in the last three games. Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett score as the Panthers get two goals on eight shots against Calvin Pickard. He had held them to one goal in Game 4. Oilers get back-to-back shots around the nine-minute mark and nothing since. They have three shots in the period.
Vasily Podkolzin is calling for tripping. Seventeen seconds will carry over into the second period.
Sam Bennett scores his 15th goal. He starts the play by intercepting the puck in the neutral zone and feeding Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk’s shot is blocked and Bennett pounces on the rebound.
Seth Jones is called for interference at 15:44 for the game’s first penalty. A big difference from the past few games, which featured multiple power plays in the first period. Panthers kill it off. No shots for the Oilers, who are stuck at three shots.
Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov sends Evander Kane flying.
What a goal by Brad Marchand. He splits the defense for a mini-breakaway and beats Calvin Pickard at 9:12. The Panthers have scored first for four games in a row.
The Panthers forward heads to the dressing room, TNT reports. He blocked a shot earlier in the game. And now he’s back on the bench.
Still scoreless. Edmonton gets a couple good chances on Sergei Bobrovsky.
Connor McDavid line vs. Sam Bennett line. Sergei Bobrovsky makes a glove save on Connor Brown early.
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will face off at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday, June 14.
TNT and truTV are broadcasting Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final. Kenny Albert will provide play-by-play, while Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher, Darren Pang and Jackie Redmond will provide analysis and reporting.
The Panthers are starting the Sam Bennett line. The Oilers are countering with the Connor McDavid line. Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Edmonton’s Calvin Pickard in net.
Referees: Francis Charron and Wes McCauley
Linespersons: Scott Cherrey and Trent Knorr
Oilers’ Calvin Pickard (7-0, 2.69 goals-against average, .896) vs. Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky (14-7, 2.27, .912)
The Oilers have the top three scorers in the series: Forwards Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are tied with a league-best 32 points, followed by defenseman Evan Bouchard (22). Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 20 points and Draisaitl has a team-best 11 goals.
The Panthers have 11 players with double-digit points, led by Sam Bennett (20), Carter Verhaeghe (19) and Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk (18 each). Bennett is the playoffs’ leading goal scorer with 14.
Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher will make a second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. He had a turnover in Game 4 that led to the Panthers’ third goal and played only 4:18 in the game. “We know his game is very dependable and when we need him, he’s able to give us quality minutes,” coach Kris Knoblauch said.
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl has four playoff overtime goals this season, setting an NHL record. He also scored six OT goals during the regular season.
Three games in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final have gone to overtime, the most since 2014. The record is five in the 1951 final between the victorious Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Every game that year went to OT.
The Oilers (Corey Perry, 19:42 in Game 2) and Panthers (Sam Reinhart, 19:40 in Game 4) have the two latest tying goals in Stanley Cup Final history. In each case, the team that tied the game late ended up losing in overtime.
The Stanley Cup Final has been tied 2-2 on 26 previous occasions. The team that has won Game 5 has gone on to win the Stanley Cup 19 times. The last four Game 5 winners in this situation won the Cup.
Calvin Pickard will be making his first start since the second round, but he played more than 50 minutes in Game 4 with little margin for error after entering the game at the start of the second period with his team trailing 3-0.
“You can look at tonight as the biggest game of my life, but last game was the biggest of my life until the next one,” he told reporters. “It’s rinse and repeat for me.”
In addition to Calvin Pickard going into the net, the Oilers are bringing back Viktor Arvidsson, who was scratched for Game 4. Kasperi Kapanen will come out of the lineup.
Series tied 2-2
All times Eastern; (x-if necessary)
All odds via BetMGM (as of Saturday, June 14, 4 p.m. ET)
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