Sights, sounds, highlights from Amerant Bank Arena in Florida
© Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images
Welcome to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can win their second straight championship on Tuesday.
NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida to provide all the sights, sounds and highlights in NHL.com’s Stanley Cup Final live blog.
I don’t want to say it’s getting late early here in Florida, but the Oilers need to have something positive happen soon.
The Panthers lead 2-0 with under 6 minutes left in the second period and appear to not only be in control, but appear happy to have this end 2-0.
Sure, they are going for scores when they can, but they are playing a smart, patient game and keeping McDavid and Draisaitl to the outside.
They just played “Land of 10,000 Dances” here and the fans, and even Viktor E. Rat, was dancing.
Then the DJ played, “Rock N’ Roll All Night” by Kiss and the crowd sung along after it ended (Brian Compton would be proud).
I honestly think they will Rock n’ Roll all night if Florida wins this game.
This crowd is ready to party, the Oilers are trying to stop that from happening, but they only have about 25 minutes of game time to do so.
For some reason they needed the scoreboard to tell fans to “Make it Loud” here. Not sure that was neccessary.
The crowd is rotating between “Let’s Go Panthers” chants, “Bobby, Bobby” chants and “Skinner, Skinner” chants.
Speaking of Skinner, Jeff Skinner is playing pretty well for Edmonton. But the Oilers clearly need their big boys to step up.
And Stuart Skinner is playing well for the Oilers, too. He just made a nice glove save on Forsling after a long offensive possession by Florida where Barkov put on a show.
Man, that guy is so good. So underrated.
The Oilers had a good chance to score with 10:30 left, but Bob was there to shut the door again.
We are midway through the second and it’s still 2-0 Florida.
The Oilers come out with some life to start the second, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl pretty much playing every other shift, but they aren’t getting much help.
McDavid and Corey Perry just had a 2-on-1 against Gustav Forsling, and McDavid tried to slide a pass to Perry on the doorstep, but it didn’t get through. It was a golden opportunity for Edmonton to get back in this game, but it didn’t.
The crowd originally thought Sergei Bobrovsky made the save, and why not? He’s stopped everything his way so far, with 13 saves thourgh the first 24 minutes.
The Oilers talked this morning about when they fall behind they need to gamble a bit and that leads to chances for the Panthers. Well, it’s not gambling time yet, still plenty of game left, but the Panthers are being patient, yet taking their chances when they sense a scoring opportunity.
Also, it seems as if the refs are letting the boys play tonight. There will be no ticky-tack penalties, it appears.
It’s still 2-0 Florida with 13:59 left in the second.
The second period has started the Oilers need something good to happen quickly.
As the DJ plays “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, the Oilers appear to be going off the rails.
In the past four games, including this one, they have been outscored 10-0 in the first period.
Another interesting tidbit, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were on the ice for both Florida goals. It’s almost as if the other Oilers players are trying so hard to get them the puck in space that they are turning it over instead.
After Matthew Tkachuk scored, TNT showed a shot of the Tkachuk parents and Brady in the crowd celebrating. Brady was wearing a hat for the Elbo Room, the famed beachside bar in Fort Lauderdale that hockey folks from all walks of life have been known to frequent.
I amazingly did not make it there this year, choosing sleep over a nightcap or two.
If it’s still there when the Winter Classic is held here in January, the Price family will make a trip.
Things have gone from bad to worse here for the Oilers. The Panthers make it 2-0 with 46.4 left after a bad turnover at their own blueline by Evan Bouchard. The result is a Panthers’ odd-man rush that Matthew Tkachuk finished.
The Oilers have played a really good period, but two mistakes and two goals for the Panthers and they are down 2-0.
The DJ just played some new-fangled version of “Boys of Summer” by Don Henley.
Not to make this an advertising space, but the guy who wrote that song with Henley, Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell, has released a book about his amazing music career called “Heartbreaker.” If you have time this summer and are a music lover, take the time to read it or listen to it. It’s awesome.
Back to the game, the Panthers are looking to play heartbreaker tonight and send the Oilers off into the summer again.
EDM@FLA, SCF Gm6: Tkachuk buries a wrister to stake the Panthers’ lead to 2-0
The Panthers, thanks to their ferocious forecheck, had two Grade-A scoring chance, but each time were denied.
First, Sam Bennett won a board battle, then cut to the net with the puck, got off a shot but Stuart Skinner got his pad out.
A few seconds later, Matthew Tkachuk drilled an Oiler behind the net, got the puck and fed it to Bennett, who then tried to feed a teammate, but the pass was knocked away.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are upping their game on the defensive end too, getting their sticks in the way of seemingly every Oiler pass, shot and move on the board. Gustav Forsling has been an absolute menace so far for the Panthers.
It’s 1-0 Florida with under three to go in the first peirod.
It took 9:45, but we finally had some — as Shawn Roarke would call it — argy-bargy, with Evander Kane right in the middle of it.
Each team has played a pretty clean game so far, but the first penalties were called with Kane and Sam Bennett each going off, meaning we are playing 4-on-4, which certainly benefits McDavid and Draisaitl with more open ice.
And while Edmonton got some good chances, Sergei Bobrovsky was there to make the saves.
Still it appears as though Edmonton got a little momentum from the 4-on-4.
In fact, McDavid had a great chance to score, but Bobrovsky was there again, with a sweet poke check, resulting in “Bob-by, Bob-by” chants.
The DJ just played some Blink-182. I think it was that “Rock Show” song, but not sure.
It’s 1-0 Florida with 6:57 left in a fast-moving first period.
The line of Sam Reinhart, Sasha Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe are creating absolute chaos for the Panthers right now. They nearly scored on their next shift after Reinhart made it 1-0 at 4:36.
The crowd is really fired up. Each time a Panthers player gets off a shot it rises as one expecting another goal.
When they are not doing that, they are giving it to Stuart Skinner.
As for the Oilers, they talked this morning about getting to their game early, and they appeared to do so, putting on some early pressure, but one mistake and the Panthers capitalized, and they are on their heels again.
I know it’s early, but it really feels like the next goal is absolutely huge. If the Panthers go up 2-0 it could be a long night for Edmonton.
We’ll see what happens next.
Well, so much for the Oilers’ fast start.
Sam Reinhart just made it 1-0 Panthers and this place is going nuts.
With McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice, Reinhart stole the puck from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, walked in on Stuart Skinner and beat him over the glove side.
It’s the disastrous start the Oilers were trying to avoid, but one mistake at the blue line and it’s in their net.
The Panthers have now outscored the Oilers 12-4 in the first period.
1-0 Panthers and they smell blood.
EDM@FLA, SCF Gm6: Reinhart nets Game 6 opener with incredible solo effort
It took only 16 seconds for the fans to start the “Skinner, Skinner” chants.
But for the most part, it’s the Oilers who are making noise. They are in control early, with four shots on goal to the Panthers’ none in the first three minutes.
I took just 1:12 for the Oilers to get the first scoring chance of the game. Evander Kane intercepted a puck in the offensive zone, fired it at Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped the puck, but seemed to lose it in his pads. He was able to cover up for the face-off, but it was a scary moment for Florida.
I originally thought the Oilers would have to survive the first few minutes, but it’s the Panthers who are sort of hanging on here early. Still 0-0, just underway.
The anthems have been sung, Bobby Lu did his drum-banging and the puck has been dropped here in Florida.
Not surprsingly, this crowd is absolutely juiced for this game.
It sang along with the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Oh, the goal horn is working perfectly.
The “We Want the Cup,” chants have already started. The opening few minutes of this game could determine if they get their wish.
The Oilers have gotten off to bad starts the past three games and quite honestly, are lucky to still be playing.
The fell behind early in Game 3, didn’t recover. They fell behind 3-0 in Game 4 and somehow came back. They fell behind early in Game 5 and lost at home.
If the Panthers can score early, this COULD, COULD, get ugly early.
If the Oilers score first, it would give them a huge lift.
Here we go. Buckle up and enjoy.
EDM@FLA, SCF Gm6: Luongo fires up the Game 6 crowd in Florida
We were starting to get worried about NHL.com writer Derek Van Diest. He just showed up in the press box after waiting for an elevator up to the press box.
It’s been quite a day with elevators for the NHL.com crew. There is a famous soccer team staying at our hotel so the security is really tight and because of that we all had to wait 5-10 minutes to get the elevator down to the lobby for the bus to the game.
Now, 5-10 minutes may not sound like a long time, but when you are waiting for an elevator it is.
Not only does George Richards control the coffee bar, he controls the TVs up here. A few minutes ago, George and NHL IT man extraordinaire Woody had a small tiff about the TV in the press box.
George wants the live feed, while some TVs are on a delay.
When the TV came back, Matthew Tkachuk was by the bench yukking it up with Charles Barkley. Talk about being loose before a huge game.
The players have gone back to the dressing rooms for final preparations, but not before some gamesmanship.
Corey Perry of the Oilers shot a puck toward the empty Panthers net, but A.J. Greer intercepted it and fired it back into the Oilers net while Perry was skating off.
We are just about 20 minutes away from Game 6 and maybe a few hours from a Stanley Cup celebration.
The Oilers, however, have other plans.
Did Connor McDavid pull a Mark Messier?
During the pregame show on TNT he was asked by Darren Pang “Why are we going back to Edmonton?” And McDavid responded, “Because we’re going to win.”
Ok, that’s not exactly a guarantee, and there is still some speculation over whether Mark Messier actually guaranteed the win for the Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Devils in 1994.
If you see Shawn Roarke in person, ask him, he would love to tell you about it.
Anyway, if McDavid is right, we all go back to Edmonton. If he’s wrong, the Panthers win the Cup at home for the second straight season.
If you watched the warmup, you saw that NBA great Charles Barkley was between the benches for TNT. I had a feeling he was going to be here because when we got off the media bus I saw a woman outside the arena holding a credential with his name on it.
The arena bowl was a little more crowded for warmups than usual. This is the last home game of the season for the Panthers no matter what happens.
They just showed a guy in the crowd wearing a sombrero that had a rat wearing a mini-sombrero on top.
Speaking of ex athletes, if you believe in curses or jinxes or things like that, the Panthers have made sure the curse of the Dolphins cannot continue tonight.
The last seven times a Dolphins player has been the pregame drum-banger the Panthers have lost. So tonight, former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo has the honors.
There is no word if Taylor Swift is coming back for Game 6. She was here for Game 4 and the Panthers lost, so maybe she is banned from coming too (kidding Swifties).
The other big celebrity up in the press box is Geroge Richards, who covers the Panthers for NHL.com. He is like the mayor up here with everyone stopping by to say hello. There was a mini emergency up here with his coffee bar and he wasn’t around to solve it, but the problem has been taken care of.
Out in the parking lot, I saw the confetti truck, so clearly they are ready to party here if the Panthers can win the Cup.
If not, we all go back to Edmonton for Game 7 on Friday night, like Connor said.
The Cup is in the house.
That’s right, for the second year in a row the Panthers can win the Stanley Cup on home ice. They did it in Game 7 last year. This is Game 6 tonight, and if they don’t get it done, everyone goes back across North America for Game 7 on Friday.
Clearly, the Panthers want to get it done, and though they have won seven straight series, they have struggled a bit closing out teams on the first try. Just remember last season, when they had a 3-0 lead on Edmonton only to lose three in a row. Over the last two playoff runs, they are 2-5 in the first chance to win a series. This season, they are 0-2 at home in those situations, getting shut out each time.
So keep an eye on that.
Also, keep an eye on Stuart Skinner in the Oilers goal. He was pulled in Game 4, benched for Game 5 and now he’s back in goal with the season on the line.
I’m sure the fans here will be riding him all night with “Skinner, Skinner” chants.
Right now, the fans are still outside in the heat and humidity getting their last few minutes of tailgating in before heading into the air conditioning for what they hope is a championship party.
When they get in a pretty cool rally towel awaits them. Each set has a towel with the first three Panthers’ playoff opponents crossed off and Edmonton without a line across it.
The warmups are about to start, so while that is going on, here is some required pregame reading for all of you from the NHL.com crew.
Here is the full game preview from Tom Gulitti.
Here is Derek Van Diest’s story on Stuart Skinner back in goal.
Amalie Benjamin wrote about Matthew Tkachuk and how he’s feeling healthy at the right time of the season.
As for Connor McDavid and the pressure to win the Cup for Edmonton, Nick Cotsonika says he can’t do it alone.
And here’s more on the Panthers trying to close it out tonight.
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
