June 18, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

“We’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and you know, drag ‘em back to Alberta.” These were Connor McDavid’s words after the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Well, the Oilers did exactly that by beating the Panthers 5-3 in Game 5 in Sunrise on Tuesday to force a Game 6.

The Oilers struck first with a short-handed goal in the first period. Then came a powerplay marker in the early stages of an eventful second period. The Oilers went up 3-0 later in the period, but Matthew Tkachuk scored just 1:53 after that to get the Panthers back within two goals. The Oilers were able to restore their three-goal lead, only to have Evan Rodrigues score just fourteen seconds later. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored early in the final frame, but the Oilers held on and added an empty netter for good measure to take the 5-3 decision.

Call Outs

Dylan Holloway was unable to clear the puck on the Panthers’ first goal. His clearing attempt was broken up, and then the puck was fed to Tkachuk for a partial breakaway. Tkachuk beat Stuart Skinner with a perfect shot to the top corner on the glove side. That play happened shortly after the Oilers went up 3-0, which was not a good time for such a mistake.

Philip Broberg was involved in a corner battle in the sequence that led to the Panthers’ second goal. He wasn’t able to win that battle. Rodrigues was able to get inside position on Broberg at the far goal post, and Rodrigues was able to finish off the play. That goal happened just fourteen seconds after the Oilers had restored their three-goal lead.

Holloway and Broberg have been fantastic in the playoffs and their growth has been fun to watch unfold, but those mistakes came at awful times. Thankfully the Panthers were unable to gather momentum after those quick responses to Oilers goals.

Stand Outs

We’re finally seeing McDavid’s magic on the biggest stage. McDavid became the first player in NHL history to record consecutive four-point games in the Stanley Cup Final. These were ELIMINATION GAMES to boot! He and Wayne Gretzky are the only two players to record multiple four-point games at any point in a Stanley Cup Final. 

He scored a sneaky five hole goal on Sergei Bobrovsky. We’ve seen McDavid cut down the left wing and slide the puck five hole like that before, but not on this stage. McDavid also sealed the victory with an empty net goal. The puck was sliding towards the Panthers goal, and McDavid was in a race with Tkachuk for the loose puck. Tkachuk dove to sweep the puck off the goal line, but McDavid slowed down because he knew there was a chance for the puck to be swept off the line. Sure enough, McDavid gathered the rebound, turned around, and scored.

McDavid also had a highlight reel assist. He walked through the four Panthers defenders on the powerplay and split the last two before centering the puck to Corey Perry who finished off the play. He added a secondary assist on Zach Hyman’s powerplay goal.

Shoutouts

Evan Bouchard exploded for three assists in Game 5. He now has 26 assists, which puts him ahead of Paul Coffey for the most assists in a single playoff run in NHL history. His 32 points are the fourth most points in a single playoff season by a defenceman in NHL history. This is ridiculous stuff from Bouchard.

I’m not even upset about Connor Brown’s performance bonus anymore. Not only did he make the play and earn an assist on Mattias Janmark’s short-handed goal to open the scoring in Game 4, but he broke up a pass at the blue line and scored on the breakaway for a short-handed goal to open the scoring in Game 5 as well. Brown has found his skating legs and his form in the latter stages of these playoffs.

Perry is the only player to play in five Stanley Cup Finals for five different teams, and he has scored a goal in each one now. That’s an incredible accomplishment. Perry has won everything there is to win in hockey, and he has been to four Stanley Cup Finals in the last five years in his late thirties. It’s incredible to watch, and his presence in the locker room has certainly been valuable for the Oilers.

Wrap

The Oilers came to Florida with the task of winning one hockey game, and they did that. They managed to weather the storm, especially in the second period when the Panthers made a big push with sixteen shots on goal. It wasn’t a perfectly played hockey game by any stretch of the imagination; but it was pulse pounding action, and the Oilers did well to survive. They will get to fight for another day.

They went to Florida with one task, and now they will come back to Edmonton with one task. The Oilers will drag the Panthers back to Rogers Place for Game 6 in front of what should be a crowd that can’t be described with a single adjective. Game 6 goes Friday night. 

Related: Call Outs, Stand Outs, and Shoutouts: Oilers make presence felt in emphatic Game 4 win