How the Oilers brought the Stanley Cup Final back to Alberta with a Game 5 win: 5 takeaways

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SUNRISE, Fla. — Since avoiding a sweep by beating the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers’ mantra has been “take them back to Alberta.”

Well, now they’re doing the same thing with the Stanley Cup. Too bad hockey’s most valuable trophy can’t get Aeroplan Miles.

For the second consecutive game, the Stanley Cup was not on display to the public on Tuesday. Instead, he’ll be in the belly of the NHL’s Air Canada charter on Wednesday for another 2,550-mile flight to Edmonton after the Oilers officially changed the momentum of this best-of-seven Stanley Cup final with a 5-3 win in game five at Amerant Bank. Arena.

With two more days off before Game 6 on Friday night, the noise outside will be deafening as the pressure mounts for the Panthers.

Connor Brown, who went the first 55 games of the season without scoring and just set up Mattias Janmark’s first shorthanded goal in Game 4, ended the Panthers’ early pressure Tuesday night by scoring himself a shorthanded goal at just 5½. minutes.

Then Connor McDavid went to work, posting another four-point game with two goals and two assists to build leads of 3-0 and 4-1.

At one point, the Oilers scored nine straight goals in the series (something the 1980s Oilers never accomplished), and they went on a 13-1 run before Matthew Tkachuk scored for Florida in the second period.

Evan Rodrigues scored his fourth goal of the series for Florida, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson brought the Panthers within one point early in the third period for a frantic finish. But Stuart Skinner held on as Edmonton brought the series back to Alberta’s capital.

“I know a lot of guys shut us out,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We were shut out a lot in the playoffs, regular season, whatever. But that doesn’t bother the group there. They have a lot of confidence – a lot of confidence and they’re just enjoying every extra day, because we were ruled out a long time ago and we’re still here playing hockey in June and we have an opportunity to go back to Edmonton. for game 6. There is something to smile about.

Rodrigues said from the other side: “We have to win a game. As simple as that. Get out there. I have to win a match. That’s our mindset and that’s what we’re going to do.

Here are five takeaways.

Oh captain, my captain

McDavid led the way in Game 4, recording a goal and three assists in a massive 8-1 victory for the Oilers. He was even better in Game 5, flying all over the ice. It seemed like the Panthers were in danger every time he had the puck on his stick.

After a secondary pass on Zach Hyman’s power play goal in the second period, McDavid simply took over.

First, he found the tiniest of openings on Sergei Bobrovsky for his seventh goal of the playoffs, a bold attempt he’s not afraid to attempt. Then, at the end of an Oilers power play, he cut through the Panthers defense and eventually got around Niko Mikkola to set up Corey Perry for a chip-in. He added an empty net.

McDavid now has 42 points in the playoffs, the fourth-highest total of all time.

Oh, and he got away with it when it mattered most. With eight points in the last two games, McDavid set a Stanley Cup Final production record in the face of elimination.

“Connor does Connor things,” Hyman said. “That’s what makes it special. He is able to elevate his game when it matters most – the main reason we have come this far. We are not here without him. He continues to drive the bus.

“That’s exactly the type of player he is,” Perry said. “He puts this team on his back. When we are against the wall, he puts us on our backs and he plays. You see why he is the best player.

Bobrovsky looks human

After allowing one goal in his first two games of the series, Bobrovsky has allowed 12 in his last three games, including an early exit in Game 3 after allowing five goals on 16 shots.

Before these last two games, there was debate over whether Bobrovsky had passed Aleksander Barkov in the Conn Smythe race. Frankly, we’re getting to the point where we’re starting to wonder if McDavid has passed them both, even if Florida wins the Stanley Cup.

Either way, Bobrovsky is starting to show signs of cracking as the Oilers come at him in waves. The most egregious soft pass he allowed Tuesday was McDavid’s shot that went through him at an odd angle for Edmonton’s third goal.

More shorthanded Oilers offense

Another game, another offensive contribution from Brown on the penalty kill.

Brown found PK partner Janmark in the crease for an easy goal to open the scoring in the second game. He also broke the ice on Tuesday with an even more impressive effort.

Brandon Montour tried to reach Barkov along the blue line, but Brown anticipated the play and put his stick on the puck to deflect it towards the neutral zone. From there, Brown beat Barkov to the loose puck and escaped. He made no mistake, playing his backhand and beating Bobrovsky 5:30 into the game.

With the goal, Brown became the third player in NHL history to record a shorthanded point in consecutive Cup Final games. The others are Serge Savard (1968) and Bobby Orr (1970), members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Nice company.

“He was incredible, even more so in that Cup final,” Hyman said of Brown, who had just 12 points in the regular season. “I think a lot of people have lost confidence in him, but he’s an incredible player. I played with him for a long time, so I knew how good he could be. He shows it every night on the highest stage. He’s one of the best players. Thanks to him.

The Oilers became the first team in NHL history to open the scoring with a shorthanded goal in consecutive Finals games. This was the sixth instance in league history where a team scored a shorthanded goal in two consecutive finals.

Tkachuk finally shows signs of life

It’s been a quiet playoff run for Tkachuk, but after more and more questions in recent days about what’s going on with him after his monstrous playoff run last year, he scored his first goal since May 22 and his second in last 16 games as a sophomore. period.

Tkachuk also played his most physical game of the series and did a solid job penetrating the middle and getting to the goalmouth in the final two periods. In the third period, his strong play behind the net allowed Ekman-Larsson to reduce the gap to 4-3.

Tkachuk may not be healthy right now. He has cut out much of the off-day practice since the second round against Boston.

Earlier Tuesday, Tkachuk was asked about his game and said, “I’m looking forward to playing, hopefully, my best game of the series tonight.” I thought the last game wasn’t nearly good enough and I’m way better than that. Perhaps the last four periods, dating back to the third period of Game 3, could be much better. So I do not know. The great thing about us is that it’s not just one guy. This is not about individuals. We have a chance to achieve the biggest goal of our lives tonight, so we’re going to do it.

Oilers power play crushes Panthers

The two power play goals scored by the Oilers – their first two five-on-four goals of the series – were certainly timely.

Hyman’s goal came 1:58 into the middle period, with two seconds remaining on the Oilers’ second power play thanks to Mikkola’s interference on Warren Foegele late in the first. Perry then gave the Oilers a three-goal lead by finishing McDavid’s pass with eight ticks remaining on Kyle Okposo’s hooking infraction on Mattias Ekholm.

The Panthers almost escaped their penalty problems unscathed. Instead, the Oilers’ ability to late make them pay for those man advantages helped turn the tide.

(Top photo of Sergei Bobrovsky after an Oilers goal: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)





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