The Stanley Cup Finals Have a Rat Problem

The Stanley Cup Finals Have a Rat Problem

the Oilers saved their season in game four with a historic comeback unlike anything the NHL has ever seen so how did they follow it up in a pivotal game five they laid an egg letting the Panthers stroll into their building and dominate them on home ice florida jumped out to another early lead continuing their first period dominance and never looked back for a second brad Marshian stayed red-hot with two more goals pushing his total to six goals in the entire series the most in a cup final in decades sam Bennett found the score sheet again barrosski stood tall and the Oilers had no answer edmonton’s offense stalled and their power play came up empty and they managed just 21 shots all night this was their chance to grab control of the series and instead they gave it right back to Florida teams that win game five to take a 3 to2 series lead go on to win the cup more than 70% of the time now the Panthers are heading home with the cup in the building and all the momentum in the world but before the cup makes its way to Florida let’s break down what just happened in game five the Oilers started off hot with this chance from Brown 30 seconds in the game but Bob continued his solid play and snagged it then it was Mc Jesus and Noo on a two-on-one and surprisingly Connor decided to shoot this one got a hold of his own block shot and almost put it in then it was Brown again that drove to the net and created some chaos as Bob was swimming around in the crease but it was kept out even though it seemed like it was the Oilers getting all the chances to start the game it would be the Panthers to strike first and of course it was the Rat Brad Marshand he was quick off of a centerized draw and gets to the loose puck and makes a quick cut around Ekholm drives in and shoots it across Pickard’s body and a roofs it to open the scoring this was the fourth straight game where the Panthers opened the scoring and once again it completely set the tone then near the end of the first period the Panthers got another chance kachchuck got a shot blocked by Wman and it luckily bounced right to Sam Bennett who put home his 15th goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs and yet again the Oilers find themselves down multiple goals at the end of the first period despite the low shot totals the Oilers were getting some good looks like this one right here but Bob shut the door then a good screen by Perry let McDavid get a clean look at the short side and beat everybody but the post and he remained scoreless in this series two power plays in the second period but the Oilers still could not break through and they entered the third period still down two goals and 20 minutes away from being on the brink of elimination the third opened and it took just 5 minutes for the Rat King to strike again just like his first goal of the game he was quick off the draw and was first to the puck he gets it moved to the point where Marshian forces a turnover and quickly gets on the attack luceran chips it ahead and now it’s a one-on-one between Wman and Marshy and at this point it doesn’t look too threatening but as WMAN was trying to keep him to the outside Marian jumps around him fights off the stick checks and finishes Fal on a beautiful individual effort this was probably the dagger but if there’s one thing we do know about this Edmonton team it’s that they are the last team to count out when they’re down and just a few minutes later Bousard found an open Conor McDavid and that is never a good sign for the opposing team he makes a quick backhand to forehand move to beat Bob and scores his first goal of the entire series absolutely no reaction from 97 as his team was still down two goals with just about 10 minutes left in the biggest game of their season so far and any hope that they still had lingering around was quickly put out as Reinhardt silenced the building the very next shift barov caused a turnover behind the net fed a backhand dish to Rhino who made no mistake bar down and if the Marshian goal wasn’t the killer this one certainly was empty net for the Oilers and they get one back as the old guys continue to dominate this series with Perry scoring from a blast from the point but that would not be enough as the Panthers shut the door and cashed in on the empty net to ice the game 5 to2 final and now the Panthers have a chance to repeat as champions on home ice on Tuesday this was a statement win by the Panthers plain and simple in a series where momentum has flipped a few times Florida just slammed the door they didn’t just beat the Oilers they dictated every single inch of that ice and now the pressure is squarely on Edmonton for the first time all postseason they’re facing elimination one more off night one more slow start and it’s over game six is do or die and it’s happening in Sunrise with the cup in the building the Panthers once again came out flying scoring first for the fourth straight game and quickly taking the life out of Edmonton getting early leads has basically become their signature in this series and it let them control the game right from the jump defensively they were rock solid clogging up the middle limiting the Oilers to just three high danger chances and making life tough for anyone in the blue paint trying to create something their penalty kill was lights out yet again going three for three and shutting down what’s usually a pretty lethal Edmonton power play mavski did not have to stand on his head at all but he made a few key saves when it mattered including a breakaway stop less than a minute into the game and that really set the tone and offensively they were rolling brad Marshian was a killer yet again scoring twice and bringing his total six goals in five games there is no question he has been the best offensive player in this series sam Bennett buried his league leading 15th goal of the playoffs and Sam Reinhardt added one as well florida’s depth structure and composure keep showing up when it matters most and now they’re just one win away from finishing the job that being said the Oilers weren’t completely dead in the water mcdavid finally got on the board with his first goal of the series but if they want to keep this thing alive he’s got to keep finding the back of the net one goal is not going to cut it against a team like Florida cory Perry chipped in again with a late goal showing this team has some sort of fight left in them but it just wasn’t enough hickard started a net instead of Skanner and did a pretty decent job with 14 saves bringing some calmness in between the pipes even if the team didn’t play like it and now they’re facing elimination for the first time all playoffs and the big question is who do they go for in net for game six picker wasn’t bad but Skinner has had some strong moments earlier in the postseason on top of that the Oilers usual problems slow starts missed power plays and not enough pressure popped up yet again if they want a chance to push this thing to seven they’re going to need to fix those things fast so now it all comes down to Tuesday night in Sunrise the Panthers are heading home with a 3 to2 series lead and the Stanley Cup waiting for them and all the momentum is on their side they’ve outscored the Oilers 13 to5 in their last three wins against them and now have opened the scoring in four straight games their structure their discipline their depth it’s all clicking at the perfect moment and in Brad Marshand they might have the most dangerous player on the ice right now he scored in four of five games this series leads the series with six goals and has completely tilted the ice in Florida’s favor if he and the Panthers come out with that same fire in game six this thing could be over quickly but don’t count out the Oilers just yet for all their struggles this is still the team that came back from the dead in game four this is still Conor McDavid the best player in the world and a group that’s been through the gauntlet to get here if there’s one team that could claw back from the brink it’s the Oilers the question is will they finally fix the problems that keep haunting them game six isn’t just going to be another hockey game for the Panthers it’s a chance to lift the cup in front of their fans to cement themselves as a modern-day dynasty and to cap off one of the most impressive playoff runs over the course of the last three years for the Oilers it’s a fight to survive to force one more game to keep the dream alive to make sure the story doesn’t end on enemy ice one way or another it’s going to be mustwatch hockey

After a historic comeback in Game 4, the Oilers had a chance to take control, and blew it. Florida dominated from the first puck drop, silencing Edmonton and grabbing a 3–2 series lead. Brad Marchand was unstoppable again, and now the Panthers head home with the Cup in the building and a chance to end it all in Game 6.

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