Florida seeks to clinch championship again; Edmonton turns to Skinner in goal
© Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers can complete their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Florida has won three of the past four games to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series and move within one victory of becoming the first team to repeat since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. The Panthers can also become just the eighth to earn a Cup-clinching win on home ice in consecutive seasons and first since Edmonton in 1987 and 1988.
“We haven’t treated any days differently and this morning was the same,” Panthers center Sam Bennett said. “We were all pretty loose this morning, joking around, cracking jokes and staying loose. You know what’s at stake tonight, but you kind of just push that away and focus on what you can control and that’s just taking your day, going through your routine and doing the same thing you’ve done. That’s how we’re handling it.”
After defeating Edmonton in seven games last season, Florida is trying to become the first team to eliminate the same opponent in the Cup Final in consecutive seasons since the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins in 1977 and 1978. The Panthers have had trouble closing out series the past two postseasons, going 2-5 in their first attempts.
That includes an 8-1 loss in Game 4 of the Cup Final last season after they won the first three games of the series. The Oilers won the next two games to force Game 7 before Florida rebounded with a 2-1 victory at home to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Edmonton faces elimination for the first time in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs; it went 5-1 in such games a year ago, including three wins after falling behind 3-0 in the Cup Final.
“It helps, but not much has changed for us,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “If we wanted to win (the series), we would’ve had to win this game here on the road anyway. So, for us, it’s about trying to get our game a little bit quicker. … I think we still haven’t seen our best and, obviously, tonight would be a great time to show it.”
Needing a win to extend the series, Edmonton will turn back to Stuart Skinner after Calvin Pickard gave up four goals on 18 shots in a 5-2 loss in Game 5 on Saturday. Skinner was pulled and replaced by Pickard in each of his past two starts, including after allowing three goals on 17 shots in the first period of the Oilers’ 5-4 overtime win in Game 4.
Skinner is 7-6 with a 2.99 goals-against average, .891 save percentage and three shutouts in 14 starts this postseason. He was 3-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .935 save percentage when the Oilers faced elimination in the final four games of the Cup Final last season.
“Feeling good coming into tonight,” Skinner said. “Definitely know that I have the confidence of my teammates and the coaching staff. There’s obviously a lot of belief.”
The Oilers have led for only 33:51 in the series compared to 200:25 for the Panthers, according to NHL Stats. Edmonton has led for just 6:04 in the past three games, all in the third period of Game 4.
“When you’re constantly chasing a game, there comes a time in the game when you have to take chances,” Draisaitl said. “That’s the way it is. Your top guys take chances and then you’re leaking a little bit the other way. So, I think playing with a lead and just getting off to a better start in general, not being down 2-0 after the first period, will go a long way.”
No team has overcome a 3-2 deficit in the Cup Final by winning Game 6 on the road and Game 7 at home since the Lightning against the Calgary Flames in 2004.
“For whatever reason, our group doesn’t like to make it easy on ourselves,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said, “and we’ve put ourselves in another difficult spot and it’s our job to work our way out of it.”
Here is a breakdown of Game 6:
Oilers: In addition to Skinner starting in goal, forward Kasperi Kapanen will be back in place of Viktor Arvidsson. Kapanen was a healthy scratch for Game 5 after playing the first four games of the series and getting three assists. Defenseman John Klingberg will also return, replacing Troy Stecher. Klingberg played the first three games of the Final before sitting out that past two in favor of Stecher, who played only 4:18 in Game 4 and 13:38 in Game 5. Edmonton is 2-for-13 on the power play over the past three games, including 0-for-3 in Game 5.
Tracey Myers, Amalie Benjamin, and Derek Van Diest preview Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final
Panthers: Florida is not expected to make any lineup changes for the fourth straight game. Although the Panthers tied the record for road wins in a playoff year with 10, they are only 5-4 at home, including 0-2 when they had a chance to clinch a series. Florida has scored first in four consecutive games and is 12-3 when scoring first this postseason, including 3-1 in this series. Brad Marchand leads all players with six goals in the Cup Final, one ahead of Bennett.
Number to know: 23. That’s how many points (eight goals, 15 assists) McDavid has in 14 career playoff games when facing elimination. He is tied with Marchand (23 points in 25 games) for the third-most points when facing elimination among active players behind Patrick Kane (25 in 23 games) and Alex Ovechkin (24 in 30 games). Facing elimination for the first time this postseason, McDavid was held without a point in his last two games facing elimination last season, in Games 6 and 7 of the Cup Final.
What to look for: Which team handles the emotions of the situation better. The Oilers will be playing to keep alive their hopes of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990. Their urgency will come naturally, but they’ll need to play in control because the Panthers have proven to be adept at capitalizing on mistakes when opponents are over aggressive. Florida will try to match Edmonton’s urgency and properly channel the boost of energy it will receive from a frenzied crowd eager to see another Cup celebration. The Panthers were almost too conservative in failing in their previous two chances to close out a series at home this postseason, getting shut out in each: a 2-0 loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a 3-0 defeat in Game 4 of the conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We haven’t really had our backs up against the wall very much this year, but last year, we certainly saw it where guys are almost going through the motions until it’s on the line and, obviously, it’s on the line right now and we’re going to need the best out of those 20 guys that we’re dressing tonight.” — Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch
“Playing an elimination game at home here, again, in this situation, it’s no secret: the Cup is in the building. It’s going to be the toughest test, the biggest game.”. — Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Corey Perry
Evander Kane — Leon Draisaitl — Kasperi Kapanen
Jeff Skinner — Adam Henrique — Trent Frederic
Vasily Podkolzin — Mattias Janmark — Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Brett Kulak
Jake Walman — John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Viktor Arvidsson, Troy Stecher, Joshua Brown, Cam Dineen, Ty Emberson, Max Jones, Derek Ryan
Injured: Zach Hyman (dislocated wrist)
Carter Verhaeghe — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer — Tomas Nosek — Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt — Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Jesper Boqvist, Uvis Balinskis, Jaycob Megna, Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm
Injured: None
Status report
Gadjovich did not skate the past two days after blocking a Bouchard shot in Game 5, but coach Paul Maurice said he will play.
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