Stanley Cup Final: Panthers-Oilers Game 5 grades, takeaways

Game 5s serve one of two purposes. Either it’s the definitive edge one team gains from closing out a series 4-1, or it’s the fact that they are now a single win away from reaching their desired destination. For the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, their 5-2 win Saturday in Game 5 over the Edmonton Oilers now means they’re a win away from winning back-to-back Cups.

Of course, it wouldn’t be out of character for the Oilers strike back to win Game 6, forcing a Game 7 back in Edmonton. Because, you know, the Oilers have never once faced elimination only to prompt a resurrection of any kind. Either way, Game 5 provided either team a chance to take an advantage in the last series of the season. In the end, the Panthers won their 10th road game this postseason, tying an NHL playoff record.

A game and series with so much at stake requires examination. Let’s take a glance at what made the difference for the Oilers and Panthers in Game 5, what players could make a potential impact in Game 6, along with what questions lie ahead.

As for what those questions could be? Let’s just say it may have to do with one team (the Panthers) closing out a series while the other (the Oilers) can force a Game 7 for a second straight Stanley Cup Final.

This game appeared to go to plan for the Panthers:

• They controlled the puck.

• They appeared to remain in control when they didn’t have possession.

• They took advantage of the power play while restricting the Oilers when they were short-handed.

• They limited the Oilers to three high-danger chances, a detail that becomes even more amplified considering they came into Game 5 ranked second in high-danger chances per 60 this postseason.

Staking Sergei Bobrovsky to a two-goal lead in the first period set the stage for one of the best goalies of his generation to make the necessary saves without feeling bombarded, as the Panthers prevented those high-danger chances, a high concentration of shots or both.

Even when Connor McDavid found an opening and Corey Perry scored to trim the lead to two goals for what was a second time in Game 5, the Panthers still made it difficult for the Oilers to generate those desired scoring chances in prime areas; all told, they fended off the late third-period barrage that saw them have 10 shots on goal.

Winning 10 games away from Sunrise is one of the major reasons why the Panthers are one win away from another Stanley Cup. And while they’ve done everything from score five goals to shutout opponents on the road, there’s a discussion to be had whether this was either the Panthers’ strongest win away from home — or maybe their most crucial victory outside the 954 this postseason.

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Corey Perry’s late goal gives Oilers hope

Corey Perry notches a big-time goal to pull the Oilers within two goals of the Panthers.

Repetitive as it sounds, the Oilers began Game 5 giving up another multi-goal period while scoring zero themselves. This has become the persistent black mark against a defensive structure that went through the Western Conference shutting down two teams that finished in the top 5 in goals per game. But against the Panthers? This is now the seventh time in the 13 periods of this series in which the Oilers have allowed more than two goals.

Frequent as those multi-goal periods have been for the Oilers, so have comebacks. The issue the Oilers kept running into in this game, however, was finding any sense of cohesion. They had chances — such as the three power-play opportunities in the first two periods — but failed to score while only getting off four shots. Altogether, it amounted to the Oilers having two high-danger chances and a 37.8% shot share while posting just 11 total shots entering the third period.

McDavid scoring his first of the Stanley Cup Final — with Corey Perry grabbing another — got the Oilers to within two goals on separate occasions. To be that close, and given their penchant for comebacks, it made another rally possible. That is, until Eetu Luostarinen’s empty-net goal sealed the deal.

But to be in that position at the end of the game brings the discussion back to the opening point for the Oilers: How much different would Game 5 have been if not for giving up another multi-goal period to start the game?

Arda Öcal’s Three Stars of Game 5

Another sublime performance for The Rat King, who potted two goals, including another great effort for the goal that put the Cats up 3-0. It was his sixth goal this Stanley Cup Final, which is the most by any player in a single year since Esa Tikkanen in 1988, with the Oilers against the Boston Bruins. It was the 13th goal at 5-on-5 for the line of Marchand-Esa Lundell-Eetu Luostarinen. The next closest trio this postseason is Carter Verhaeghe-Matthew Tkachuk-Sam Bennett, with 10.

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Brad Marchand’s 2nd goal of game is a thing of beauty

Brad Marchand lights the lamp to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead in the third period.

Speaking of Bennett, he continued his road scoring ways with his 15th of the postseason and 13th away from home. Bennett became the fifth player in NHL history to register a six-game road goal streak in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He joins Brian Propp (seven road game-goal streak in 1989), Mark Scheifele (six in 2018), Kevin Stevens (six in 1991) and Maurice Richard (six in 1951).

His third-period tally was his seventh of the postseason. That goal made it 4-1, and was the Panthers 60th on the road this postseason, 11 more than any other team in a single year in Stanley Cup playoffs history. Luostarinen’s empty-netter made it 61, putting the Cats 12 ahead of the team in second on the list (1993 Los Angeles Kings, 49).

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Sam Reinhart fires it home for a Panthers goal

Sam Reinhart gets the puck past the goalie to give the Panthers a three-goal lead.

Players to watch in Game 6

Performances like Game 6 adds to why the Panthers were among the many teams who wanted Marchand at the trade deadline. After not scoring in Game 4, his two in Game 5 gives him 10 goals and 20 points this postseason — and also present a rather serious argument for being named the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of the postseason.

Marchand’s production could help the Panthers win another title. It could also lead to Marchand further enhancing his status as one of the most attractive names in free agency. Championship teams, and those who want that mantle, are often navigating what it means to win while staying salary cap-compliant.

What made Marchand so attractive at the trade deadline was the fact he was a proven winner who was on an expiring contract. The idea he’s a win away from being a two-time Stanley Cup winner who played a crucial role in the Panthers winning again? That’s going to leave the Panthers’ front office with a tough decision to make, in an offseason in which Marchand is part of an eight-player unrestricted free agent class that also includes Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad.

Now that McDavid has scored his first goal of the Cup Final, was Game 5 the starting point for the best player on the planet to score more in what could be his team’s final game of the season?

Think back to what McDavid did in last year’s Cup Final in Games 4 and 5. McDavid might have played some of his most dominant hockey when he helped the Oilers climb back in the series, starting with the goal and three assists he had in Game 4 followed by another four-point effort with two goals and two assists in Game 5.

There are many reasons why the Oilers are in a second consecutive Cup Final. One of them is relying on a level of depth scoring that has made them more than their pair of generational superstars, while knowing that Leon Draisaitl and McDavid can go off at any moment. Can the Oilers find a way to get that scoring depth to work for them again in addition to Draisaitl and McDavid? Or will it take another hallmark performance from their dynamic to force a Game 7?

These are just a few of the questions that could determine if the Oilers can mount another comeback, force a Game 7, win the first Cup since 1990 … or be left to think about another campaign in which they were close but came up short.

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Connor McDavid responds with a goal to pull Oilers closer

Connor McDavid notches a much needed goal to pull the Oilers within two.

Big questions for Game 6

Can the Oilers repeat what they did last year and force a Game 7?

So much has been said — and will continue to be said — about how the Oilers aren’t really out of the series, because of how they forced a Game 7 last year and nearly pulled off the improbable after falling into a 3-0 hole.

But what must happen for them to force one more game?

Game 5 started like a repeat of Game 4, in that after giving up a multi-goal first period, the Oilers only gave up one goal and appeared to find defensive consistency. So how can they find a way to piece together the type of defensive effort that prevents the Panthers from having another multi-goal period, while generating more offensive production than they did in Game 5? That’s the big question facing the Oilers in what could either be their last game of the season or their second-to-last game of the season.

Will the Panthers be able to close out the Cup Final on the first try?

If there’s any team that knows just how dangerous the Oilers are when facing elimination, it is most definitely the Panthers.

Something we’ve seen from the Oilers this postseason is not only their ability to come back in a series, but their ability to close out a team because they know all the signs of a potential comeback.

Something we’ve seen from the Panthers this postseason is that opponents have found ways to stay alive. Go back to the second round, when the Panthers appeared to attain all the momentum against the Toronto Maple Leafs before the Leafs used a 2-0 win in Game 6 to force a Game 7. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Carolina Hurricanes had also lost three in a row, but rallied to win Game 4.

Granted, the Panthers would win both series. But it does create some intrigue as to whether or not the Panthers will win on home ice or be forced to return to Edmonton.