SUNRISE, FL – Edmonton put the hockey world on notice that they were still a force in the series with their 8-1 victory in Game Four at home. They added emphasis to their encore performance in Game Five with a hard-fought 5-3 victory against the Florida Panthers.
On the strength of Connor McDavid’s two goals and four points, Evan Bouchard’s three assists and Stuart Skinner’s 29 saves on 32 shots the Edmonton Oilers are headed back to Alberta with a chance to tie up the series.
Florida failed to clinch in their second chance at series victory, looking lifeless at times, but inspired at other times. The lack of sustained pressure of failing to have their shots find the back of the net contributed to a stalled offensive effort that failed to generate a lead at any point during the game. The Panthers were chasing the Oilers on the scoreboard all night.
Edmonton’s Connor Brown had a chance in tight just seconds into the game, but Florida goaltender stopped in what was an easy save. Less than a minute later, Edmonton Stuart Skinner had a nearly identical stop from Florida’s Sam Reinhardt to keep the game scoreless. Off the ensuing face-off, Reinhardt again with a drive but Skinner smothered it.
Edmonton went into a mode of relieving the pressure for the next, but not before Florida’s Evan Rodrigues fired a pass to a waiting Aleksander Barkov who centered to teammate Aaron Ekblad who was wide open as he drifted in from the right point. Skinner had to make a miraculous glove save to keep things stingy.
Stuart saved five shots in the first four and a half minutes while Bobrovsky snared three.
Then a break for Florida. Edmonton’s Brett Kulak was whistled for high sticking the Panthers Ryan Lomberg, a fresh addition to the Game Four line-up. The were poised to get the first goal.
That momentum was cooled when a misplaced pass across to the left point was intercepted by Edmonton’s Brown who raced in on Bobrovsky. A push from forehand to backhand slid the biscuit under the Florida goaltender to give Edmonton the shorthanded goal and the lead. It was his second of the playoffs.
Just as Florida attempted to recover from that tough goal, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was called for cross-checking Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard and the Oilers would seek to extend their lead.
But that advantage would end when Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was sent off for hooking Florida’s Anton Lundell just a minute into the man advantage. It would be four-on-four hockey just after the midpoint of the opening frame.
Barkov emerged from the penalty box to join the rush as Florida sought the equalizer, but the Panthers could not find twine.
With Edmonton’s eight to one advantage in blocks and Florida’s six missed shots, there was no wonder why the Oilers held the lead.
The uneventful ending culminated with an interference penalty on Florida’s Niko Mikkola for fouling Edmonton’s Warren Foegele. The visiting Oilers would seek to add to their lead with a man advantage to start the period.
Edmonton ended the period ahead in shots 10-6 while Florida dominated in the hit department with a 15-4 advantage.
Edmonton plowed into the power play right off the get-go. Wrap-around attempts by McDavid and Nugent Hopkins were denied, but Zach Hyman lit the lamp when the puck squirted out to the high slot area. He blasted a slapper past Bobrovsky to give the Oilers the 2-0 lead, Bouchard and McDavid credited with the helpers. It was Hyman’s 15th of the playoffs. He had 54 goals in the regular season.
And the Oilers were not done. Just five minutes into the middle period, Bouchard collected a puck and dished it off to Warren Foegele. His pass to the side of the net found McDavid who saw an opening on Bobrovksy. McDavid went for it with a stiff shot right off the inside of the goalie’s left skate. It was his 7th of the playoffs and game Edmonton a 3-0 lead.
Florida, with a chance to clinch the Cup for the second game in a row, was in a bind.
That’s when Matthew Tkachuk found a loose puck twenty feet in front of Skinner. Tkachuk, turned from the slot and winged a shot past the Edmonton goalie high glove side to breathe life into the Panthers. The crowd had awakened. It was now 3-1 Edmonton Tkachuk’s 6th of the post season, was just his first goal and second point of the Final.
And the assault on the visitor’s net was on. A nifty drive by Florida’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson was steered aside by Skinner. Amerant Arena was jumping.
But the clamoring was dampened when Florida’s Kyle Okposo was called for hooking Mattias Ekholm. Now it was Edmonton’s turn to jump back into the fight.
With nine minutes left in the second, Zach Hyman broke in down the left side in on Bobrovsky and nearly slid one inside the post, but Bobrovsky had it closed off. But that wall couldn’t hold everything from getting in.
McDavid skated down the left side across the circle and once in deep, slid a pass to Corey Perry to make it 4-1. It was the veteran’s first of the post season in seventeen games and was Edmonton’s second power play goal of the night. Before the goal could be announced, Florida added some excitement just fourteen seconds later.
The Panthers raced up ice and battle for the puck once it got to the slot ensued. Bouncing around and difficult to get a handle on, Evan Rodrigues batted the puck around before it went of Skinner and off of an Edmonton defenseman’s leg into the net. It was Rodrigues’ 4th goal of the Final, 7th of the postseason.
It was now 4-2 Edmonton.
Just as the Florida crowd was getting revved up again, Rodrigues took a slashing penalty against McDavid, inviting Edmonton to pad their lead.
But just less than a minute into the power play, Edmonton’s Hyman took an interference penalty against Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen. It would be 4-on-4 hockey for the second time tonight.
Once Florida’s penalty expired, they fired on Skinner, first Ekman-Larsson and then Sam Reinhardt, but to not avail. Skinner shut the door tight.
More chances, Tkachuk and then Forsling, but none would get pas Skinner. Florida had taken the lead in shots on the late flurry.
Florida retook the lead in shots 23-20, in the second period alone 17-10, dominated in hits 24-13. The Panthers were fortunate to get back into the game
The final period of regulation began with chances from both sides, but it wasn’t until a little more than four minutes into the frame that Florida showed it wasn’t out of this game.
Battles behind the net with Tkachuk fighting for position and finally centering into Ekman-Larsson path as he hammered home the slapper to tighten the gap to 4-3 with momentum on their side. It was Ekman-Larsson’s second of the postseason.
The Panthers were on the prowl for more.
And that more came when Tkachuk got knotted up with Edmonton’s Dylan Holloway as the Panthers disturber was hooked on the way toward Skinner with the puck on his blade. Florida would have gone on the power play with just under fourteen minutes remaining in regulation, but Tkachuk was called for embellishment for dropping to the ice creatively from the hook.
With four players aside at the ensuing face-off, Edmonton’s Kulak finessed the puck along the right boards and had an open path toward Bobrowsky. He drew the defense near him before sliding a pass to his left were a steaking Nugent-Hopkins was all alone. Hid s drive was steered aside by Bobrovksy into the corner.
The hits were rolling at this point.
With just under ten minutes remaining, Edmonton got away with a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty which Florida had been screaming for with the puck batted around along the bench side of the ice.
Ekman-Larrson fired a blast from the left point that deflected to Tkachuk, who then redirected to teammate Sam Bennett, who just missed the tap-in at the open side of the cage.
Then another momentum killer, a Florida tripping penalty against Dmitry Kulikov with Edmonton’s Foegele the victim.
Florida withstood the Edmonton barrage which followed, including Nugent-Hopkins’ snapshot from the high slot with just thirty seconds remaining in the man advantage.
Florida was not going to go quietly into this good night.
With 2:32 to play in regulation, Bobrovsky vacated his cage in favor of six skaters and the Panthers set-up in the Edmonton zone. A drive by Sam Reinhardt was easily handled by Skinner to kill the play and Florida called their timeout.
An Edmonton clearing attempt and swat by Oilers Mattias Janmark toward the Florida goal nearly sealed it for the Oilers, but it hit the right post with just more than a minute to play.
A second Edmonton clearing attempt from the face-off nearly crossed the Florida goal line before Tkachuk dove with a sweeping hook save with his stick to keep it out. The puck eventually landed on McDavid’s stick at the left boards who fired it into the empty net, securing the 5-3 victory.
Game Six is Friday night in Edmonton at Rogers Centre. A victory by the Oilers would send the series back to Florida while a Panthers victory in Game Six would be their third try at clinching, would secure the thirty-year old franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Dennis Morrell has developed a deeply rooted passion for our game over many decades as a goaltender, writer, photographer, goalie coach, and active Level 3 USA Hockey-certified, on-ice official with over 2,000 games with the whistle. His passion for the game began in the early 70s upon his first glance at players battling for the puck at Clayton’s Shaw Park.
And yes, the ice is perfect.
He has been fortunate to journalistically cover 2 NHL Entry Drafts, 5 NHL All-Star Games, 8 NHL Outdoor Games in two countries and 22 games played in the context of 10 Stanley Cup Final games, witnessing the oldest trophy in sports lifted by the champion 3 times, including when his beloved hometown team, the St. Louis Blues, won their first chalice in 2019.
He has witnessed over 1,000 major and minor professional games in over 250 different arenas. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.
Photo credit – Bill.Kober@prohockeynews.com
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