Forward has 2 goals, Bennett scores 15th of playoffs for Florida
Panthers at Oilers | Recap | SCF, Game 5
EDMONTON — Brad Marchand stayed red-hot and pushed the Florida Panthers to within one win of a second straight Stanley Cup championship.
Marchand scored two goals, giving him a series-leading six and the most by any player in a Stanley Cup Final since 1988, helping the Panthers to a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 at Rogers Place on Saturday.
“I’ve said it a ton of times, we’re just enjoying the moment,” Marchand said. “It’s a special time, special memories that we’re going to have forever. I’m not really nervous, just excited.”
Sam Bennett scored his League-leading 15th goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for the Panthers, who lead the best-of-7 series 3-2.
They can win the Stanley Cup in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
In Cup Final history, teams that win Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series have gone on to win the Stanley Cup 73.1 percent of the time (19 of 26).
“The more times you’re in a situation like this the more comfortable you’re going to be,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. “We’ve been staying in the moment very well, all postseason. It’s just about handling your day. We did what we set out to do today. Now it’s about recovering and getting back at it in a couple days.”
Connor McDavid got his first goal of the series, and Calvin Pickard made 14 saves in his first start of the Final, but the Oilers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were limited to three shots on goal in the first period, 11 through two and 21 for the game. They had 13 shots at 5-on-5.
Unlike in Game 4, when they came back from down 3-0 after the first period and won 5-4 in overtime, the Oilers did not have an answer in Game 5.
“We’re a team that can always find a way to come back, but it’s not always going to happen,” Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “Sometimes when you put yourself behind you’re not going to find ways to get back. We’ve got to figure out our first period here and we’ll look to correct that in Game 6.”
The first period has been especially one-sided. Florida has outscored Edmonton 11-4 in the first period, including 2-0 in Game 5. It has scored at least two goals in the first period in all five games.
“I think we’ve come out flat now most of the series, so that’s something. I think it’s a mindset,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We have to make sure we get pucks in, try to put pressure on them. They’re a good team for a reason and they’ve come out and showed that early in the games, and we have to find a way to be better at the start.”
The Oilers had a chance to change that narrative in the first minute, when Connor Brown had a breakaway. Bobrovsky made the save 29 seconds into the game, one of just three saves he had to make in the first 8:50.
“When you’re on the road and you can keep the building from lighting up in the first 10 minutes,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “that’s just a big part of the emotions of what goes on.”
Edmonton did not have a shot on goal in the final 11:10 of the period. Florida scored two goals in that time.
Marchand made it a 1-0 lead at 9:12.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm5: Marchand splits the defense and opens scoring
Panthers forward Anton Lundell lost the center-ice face-off to Leon Draisaitl, but Marchand was quick to the puck and first on it. He made a move to his backhand, cutting inside Ekholm before putting a forehanded shot past Pickard from the left circle.
“Those are the goals you look at on YouTube as a kid and try and to go out and practice yourself,” Lundell said. “We’re all pretty amazed by him.”
Bennett made it 2-0 at 18:06, scoring 22 seconds after the Panthers finished killing an Edmonton power play. He scored off the rebound of Matthew Tkachuk‘s blocked shot to extend his road goal streak in the playoffs to six games.
Bennett is the fifth player in NHL history with a goal in at least six consecutive road games in a single postseason.
“His game translates so well to this time of year,” Reinhart said of Bennett. “He creates so much room for himself.”
Florida killed two Edmonton power plays in the first 10 minutes of the second period. McDavid hit the left post with a shot from the left circle on the man-advantage at 8:25.
Marchand extended the lead to 3-0 with another highlight-reel goal at 5:12 of the third period, before the Oilers had a shot on goal in the period.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm5: Marchand strikes again to make it 3-0 in 3rd
He got the puck from Luostarinen in space and with speed, made a move to get around Jake Walman, went with a forehand-backhand deke and slipped the puck through Pickard’s five-hole.
“I don’t know how he did that,” Bennett said. “We’re going to have to watch that clip a couple times and ask him to teach me something.”
Marchand, who also scored five goals in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with the Boston Bruins, joined Mario Lemieux (five goals in 1991 and 1992 with the Pittsburgh Penguins) as the only players to score at least five goals in a Cup Final in the NHL expansion era (since 1967-68).
The last player to score six in a Cup Final was Esa Tikkanen with the Oilers in 1988.
“It’s those big moments when you need guys to step up and time and time again he’s there to produce,” Reinhart said.
McDavid made it 3-1 at 7:36, but the momentum was short-lived as Reinhart scored 46 seconds later from the left circle to put the Panthers ahead 4-1 at 8:10.
FLA@EDM, SCF Gm5: McDavid puts the Oilers on the board in 3rd
Corey Perry scored on a slap shot from near the blue line to cut it to 4-2 at 16:47 with Pickard pulled for the extra skater, but Luostarinen scored into an empty net from the defensive zone at 18:41 for the 5-2 final.
“Win our last two games. We’re confident we can do that,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’ve been through difficult situations before and it’s just another one we’ll overcome.”
NOTES: The Panthers tied the NHL record for most road wins in a single postseason with their 10th. The St. Louis Blues had 10 in 2019. … There have been at least seven goals scored in each of the first five games in the series. The only other time that happened in a Cup Final was in 1980, when the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers combined to score at least seven in all six games they played. … Bennett is the fourth active player to score at least 15 goals in a single postseason, following Zach Hyman (16 with the Oilers last season), Alex Ovechkin (15 with the Washington Capitals in 2018) and Sidney Crosby (15 with the Penguins in 2009).
FLA vs. EDM
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
