Panthers-Oilers Sport 5 takeaways, early take a look at Sport 6

With the Stanley Cup within the constructing for a second straight sport, the Florida Panthers could not fairly muster sufficient in Sport 5 to clinch, because the Edmonton Oilers skated away with a 5-3 victory.

The sport began mildly sufficient, with a 1-0 Oilers lead after one body. Issues obtained wild within the second interval, with 5 objectives mixed from the 2 groups. Whereas the Panthers obtained inside one within the third, they could not get the equalizer, and Connor McDavid scored an empty-net purpose to place the capper on the festivities.

It was a four-point night time for McDavid, who continues his climb up the single-playoff factors leaderboard. His 42 factors on this playoff run are 5 shy of Wayne Gretzky (1985) for essentially the most all time.

We’re right here to interrupt all of it down for you. Listed below are our grades for each groups, together with takeaways that caught out essentially the most, key gamers to observe and the massive questions left unanswered previous to Sport 6 (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+).

Panthers grade: B-

Florida checked in late to Sport 5 and ran out of runway to seal the deal on the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship — once more.

The Panthers gave up a shorthanded purpose lower than six minutes into the primary interval, and that appeared to deflate the group in a approach the place it did not get well till effectively into the second body. By then, the Panthers have been already trailing by a number of objectives, a deficit too tough to climb out of at one of the best of occasions — not to mention when up towards a determined opponent.

Florida did discover its legs finally and regarded harmful for many of the third interval, however whereas the Panthers’ depth skaters confirmed up, not sufficient of Florida’s stars — Sam Reinhart? Aleksander Barkov? Carter Verhaeghe? — did the identical. Edmonton’s elite skaters carried out as precisely that Tuesday. The Panthers’ greatest higher be ready to do the identical in Sport 6.

Oilers grade: B+

Scoring eight objectives in Sport 4 allowed the Oilers to increase the collection. However that was no assure they might discover cohesion in Sport 5; because it seems, they did.

As soon as once more, the Oilers scored the primary purpose and constructed a three-goal lead. Their energy play went from looking for solutions to looking for extra objectives. They’d moments when their potential to suppress photographs was evident, which was the case when the Panthers did not launch a shot over the ultimate 14 minutes of the primary interval. Plus, they blocked 26 photographs in assist of Stuart Skinner.

Additionally they had some difficult moments which noticed them enter survival mode. Within the second interval, they allowed 16 photographs and two objectives, one among them coming lower than 30 seconds after that they had pushed the result in 4-1. That second-period surge saved the Panthers inside attain earlier than Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s purpose simply 4:04 into the third made life a bit difficult for the Oilers. Within the closing body, Edmonton had solely 4 photographs whereas permitting 11. However, that they had simply sufficient to tug this one out.

What we realized in Sport 5

Florida’s particular groups are an issue

The Panthers had carried out a masterful job early within the collection of holding off Edmonton’s potent energy play. However the Oilers have been turning the tide there, and Florida seems to be more and more weak in an space that was as soon as a real power. Edmonton opened the scoring in Sport 5 with a nifty shorthanded purpose by Connor Brown, after which scored two power-play objectives.

In the meantime, Florida by no means capitalized by itself probabilities, going 0-for-3 on the ability play. Tightly contested collection are hardly ever received at even power; Florida should maintain Edmonton at bay on particular groups too if it expects to return away with a Cup.

Sergei Bobrovsky cannot win alone

Florida leaned into its distinctive goaltending all through the postseason. However Bobrovsky was aided by what was as soon as a stellar defensive dedication from the gamers in entrance of him.

That is dwindled over the previous two video games, and Bobrovsky has regarded extra uncovered in consequence. Maybe it is the jitters related to attempting to shut a group out and win a Cup, however Florida’s once-impenetrable look collapsing on the Oilers within the offensive zone wasn’t almost as obvious within the first half of Sport 5, and it price the Panthers a win.

Florida has to get again to defending the home and giving Bobrovsky a greater likelihood to do his greatest work.

That Oilers power-play unit is likely to be superb going ahead

Keep in mind that time when the Oilers’ energy play struggled to seek out photographs, not to mention objectives, and it led to questions on what was going fallacious? An influence-play purpose in Sport 4 was adopted by two extra with the additional skater benefit in Sport 5.

McDavid made the purpose that the Oilers progressively discover solutions towards opposing penalty kills — and he has some extent. The Oilers went by means of related struggles to start with of the Western Convention finals towards the Dallas Stars, solely to attain 4 power-play objectives mixed in Video games 5 and 6 to shut out the collection.

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Zach Hyman doubles Oilers’ lead with tip off slap shot

Evan Bouchard fires, however the puck ideas off Zach Hyman’s stick for the Oilers rating within the second interval.

We would must have a dialog about Evan Bouchard

Bouchard’s three assists in Sport 5 do greater than add to his stellar 2024 postseason — they open up a bigger dialogue about the place he matches throughout the panorama of the sport’s high younger defensemen.

It is reached some extent that having a younger, puck-moving top-four choice has virtually develop into a necessity to win or at the least be able to win in at present’s NHL. Miro Heiskanen’s 26 factors in 27 playoff video games in 2020 helped the Stars attain the Cup Remaining whereas bolstering Heiskanen’s popularity. The identical went for Cale Makar in 2022 when he completed with 29 factors in 20 playoff video games and helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.

Bouchard’s 32 factors by means of 23 video games now have him 5 factors shy of tying Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey’s file of most factors by a defensemen in a single postseason. And for anybody who may not have been conversant in Bouchard, this postseason serves as a launching pad for him to be included in that high defenseman dialogue.

Gamers to observe in Sport 6

Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Panthers

It took till Sport 5, however Tkachuk lastly had his greatest sport of the Cup Remaining on Tuesday. The Panthers’ high ahead was a pressure at each ends of the ice, establishing teammates, scoring himself and drawing penalties. Tkachuk hadn’t had that kind of all-around impression but towards Edmonton, and it was a lot wanted — particularly if he can channel that vitality once more in Sport 6.

It was little marvel that the stronger Tkachuk grew to become, the higher Florida carried out down the stretch in Sport 5. He ought to be prepared and capable of set the tone in Sport 6, and his teammates might be ready to observe that lead from puck drop.

Connor McDavid, C, Oilers

Selecting McDavid because the participant to observe forward of Sport 6 is basically the hockey equal of why florals in spring are groundbreaking. However on the similar time, how may he not be the selection?

He went from not having one purpose by means of the primary three video games of the Stanley Cup Remaining to having a purpose and 4 factors simply in Sport 4. He adopted that up in Sport 5 by scoring two objectives and two assists. He’s now the favourite to win the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP, in keeping with ESPN BET.

Whereas it is the kind of manufacturing that comes with the mantle of being one of the best participant in hockey, let’s take a breath and keep in mind that McDavid is doing this throughout a Cup Remaining that has seen his group go from being swept to forcing a Sport 6.

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Connor McDavid performs hero for Oilers with 4-point efficiency

Connor McDavid leads the Oilers again to Edmonton with a two-goal, two-assist night time in Sport 5.

Massive questions for Sport 6

Can the Panthers put this collection away?

It is one factor to shut out an opponent within the first or second spherical of a playoff collection. It is one other factor solely for Florida to shut the guide on Edmonton and declare the Cup.

The Panthers have allowed their opponent to dictate an excessive amount of early on up to now two video games, and it has put them able to play catch up. The Panthers have now did not clinch at house or away, and Edmonton had each cause to consider it could full essentially the most improbably of comebacks on this collection.

It is time for Florida to indicate its mettle by placing a dagger within the Oilers earlier than this Cup Remaining reaches a Sport 7 state of affairs that frankly Florida simply would not wish to discover itself in — particularly not when McDavid is enjoying like a human cheat code.

Have the Oilers discovered the Panthers’ forecheck, and in flip, Bobrovsky?

Return to what the Oilers did within the third interval of Sport 3. Although they could not pressure extra time, they did get two objectives within the closing body, which is as many as that they had within the collection complete earlier than that time. These objectives signaled that the Oilers may need discovered a breakthrough towards the Panthers’ forecheck and, doubtlessly, Bobrovsky.

Scoring eight objectives in Sport 4 strengthened that concept, with the caveat that it was only one sport. Scoring a shorthanded purpose, a power-play purpose and one in 5-on-5 play in Sport 5 proved that the Oilers may generate probabilities in each sequence. McDavid’s purpose that gave the Oilers a 3-0 lead capped a stretch that noticed the Oilers rating 12 of the previous 13 objectives within the collection at the moment, including to the assumption they could have lastly discovered solutions to their greatest drawback.