Brad Marchand wasn't playing for the Florida Panthers when they won their first Stanley Cup championship a year ago. But the veteran forward helped put the Panthers on the brink of a second consecutive title when he scored twice in a 5-2 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday.
The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can repeat as champions when they host the Oilers in South Florida on Tuesday night.
Marchand opened the scoring at 9:12 of the first period, and then made it 3-0 Florida with another spectacular individual effort 5:12 into the third period. Sam Bennett added his League-leading 15th postseason goal for the Panthers, who rebounded after blowing a three-goal lead to lose Game 4 on home ice two days prior.
This time, there was no blown lead. The Panthers played a tight defensive game in front of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky , who finished with 19 saves. And the Oilers didn't receive the lift they hoped for from Calvin Pickard , who made his first start in the series after sparking them off the bench in the comeback win Thursday.
With each team running somewhat on fumes after playing the third overtime in four games, then traveling 2,500 miles by air, and with no extra day off, it was up to Florida's ageless wonder, Marchand, to break the ice in Game 5. The 37-year-old hopped on the puck after an Anton Lundell face-off win at center ice, split the Oilers defense, got behind Mattias Ekholm , and finished with a perfect shot against the grain, beating Pickard to the glove side at 9:12 of the first to give Florida the all-important first goal on the road.
Though the Panthers carried the majority of play, it looked like the Oilers would reach the first intermission down just one. That is until Bennett wired one past Pickard at 18:06 after Matthew Tkachuk 's shot attempt off the rush was blocked.
The second period was pretty much a low-event 20 minutes of hockey. Connor McDavid did hit the post during an Oilers power play, and Bobrovsky made a pair of big-time stops against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry in 1-2 fashion during another Edmonton power play.
It was just the second scoreless period of this entire series. The other being the first overtime of Florida's double-OT victory in Game 2.
Marchand scored off another rush up ice early in the third period, this time turning defenseman Jake Walman inside out before tucking the puck between Pickard's pads for his second goal of the night. He now has six goals in the series, the first player to score that many in the Stanley Cup Final since Esa Tikkanen scored six times in 1988 for the Oilers.
McDavid brought the home crowd to life with his first goal of the series at 7:24 off a gorgeous backhand-forehand finish. But Sam Reinhart scored for the third straight game, zipping shot past Pickard just 46 seconds later to make it 4-1 Panthers.
With the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Perry hammered a long-range shot through traffic and past Bobrovsky at 16:47. But again Florida had an answer, when Eetu Luostarinen scored an empty-net goal from his end of the ice to close out the scoring at 18:41.
Next, the Panthers will try to close out the Oilers on Tuesday for the second straight year.
Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
It was yet another fast start for the Panthers, who continue to be a dominant first-period team in this series. They've scored the first goal in four straight games, and out-scored the Oilers 7-0 in the first period over the past three games. Overall this postseason, the Panthers hold a 28-17 scoring edge in the first period and scored first in 15 of 22 games, with a 12-3 record when doing so.
On Saturday, the Panthers allowed the first shot of the game, and then out-shot the Oilers 8-2 the rest of the first period. They attempted 30 shots to 12 by the Oilers, and had an expected goals share of 68.88 percent 5v5 in the first period, per Natural Stat Trick . Florida had an 11-5 advantage in scoring chances, including 5-1 of the high-danger variety.
Most importantly, the Panthers scored the only two goals in the first period. And this time they didn't cough it up, after blowing a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes in the 5-4 overtime loss in Game 4.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner in each of the previous two games of this series, a 6-1 loss in Game 3 and the uplifting 5-4 OT win in Game 4. So, it wasn't a surprise nor necessarily the wrong decision to start Pickard in Game 5.
Pickard, the 33-year-old journeyman, was 7-0 this postseason with a 2.69 goals-against average, stopped 22 of 23 shots in relief to key their win Thursday, and won six straight starts bridging the first two rounds of these playoffs after replacing Skinner, who lost the first two games in Round 1 against the Los Angeles Kings . An injury sustained by Pickard in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights forced Skinner to take over the net, and he responded in solid fashion, helping the Oilers reach the Final.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
So, it was Pickard in Game 5, and it didn't work out as the Oilers hoped. He allowed four goals on 18 shots and now Edmonton is on the verge of elimination.
Which raises the same question for Game 6 that Knoblauch had to answer in Game 5. And that's whether to start Pickard or Skinner. This time, Knoblauch will have an extra day to come up with that answer.
One thing this series has shown us is not to count out either team when it appears to be down. Florida lost Game 1 and was a double-overtime goal away from falling behind 2-0 in this series. Edmonton then lost two straight games and trailed 3-0 after 20 minutes on the road, staring a 3-1 series deficit in the face, but pulled out Game 4 in overtime. The Panthers had a historic collapse in Game 4, but followed that up with a complete 60-minute effort in a convincing win Saturday.
So, that means to not expect the Oilers to roll over in Game 6 on Tuesday. Remember, too, that the Oilers won three straight elimination games in the 2024 Cup Final after losing the first three contests. Of course, it's also worth remembering that the Panthers then won Game 7 on home ice 2-1. Tuesday will be their final home game of these playoffs. They would love to make sure that it ends in another wild late-night party down by the beach in Fort Lauderdale.
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