Florida Panthers Learn From Mistakes, On Cusp of Cup Repeat

No one can accuse the Florida Panthers of not learning from their mistakes, at least not anyone who watched Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

For the fifth straight time in this year’s playoffs, the Panthers were victorious after a loss.

From the opening faceoff they took control, rolling to a 5-2 win over the host Edmonton Oilers to take a 3-2 series lead in the Cup Final.

Florida is now a win away from winning the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. 

The Stanley Cup will be in Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night for Game 6 — and the Panthers would love to keep it right here in South Florida.

“We learned pretty early that we need to be prepared,’’ said Brad Marchand, who scored the first of his two goals to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the first.

“They scored the first minute and a half for the first game. They have the ability to take over from the drop of the puck. I think it’s just an example of understanding that we need to be prepared for the start of games and be able to match their their skill level and their ability to score. If you want to defend that, we’ve got to be ready to play.”

The Panthers certainly did just that after giving up a 3-0 lead in Game 4 before losing in overtime.

Saturday, the Panthers outshot Edmonton 8-3 in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the second.

If there were any speeches in the Oilers’ room between periods, no one outside of that room will ever know.

At one point, the Oilers went 11:10 between shots, a drought that extended into the second period.

The Panthers seemed to win almost every loose puck and board battle.

Of Edmonton’s three shots on goal in the first period, only one came from a forward. That was from Connor Brown at the 29-second mark.

For a few brief moments in the third, it looked as if the dreaded three-goal lead might once again come back to haunt them. Edmonton’s two wins in this series both featured multi-goal comebacks.

Instead of sitting back and defending, which was costly in Thursday’s blown three-goal lead loss, the Panthers played their game as only they know.

As they have done so many times in the past, the Panthers roared back when scored upon with an offensive charge to negate the goal against.

This time it was Sam Reinhart scoring only 36 seconds after Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the series in the third period.

When Corey Perry tallied at 16:47 with goalie Calvin Pickard on the bench, Eetu Luostarinen hit an empty netter to end it.

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had a combined four shots on goal.

Edmonton was scoreless in three power plays during which they managed a total of four shots on goal. Florida is 19 for 23 on the penalty kill in the Final.

After the game Reinhart spoke about what it was like for his line to defend against the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl.

“I think when we’re moving like we are, we’re supporting the puck, both offensively and defensively,  that’s when we’re at our best,’’ he said. “We talk about take away their time and space, make them as uncomfortable as we possibly can; that leads to a lot of our offense, so that’s what our focus is.”

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch addressed some of his team’s issues and the lost opportunities to mount a comeback.

“In the second period I thought we had some good opportunities,’’ he said. “It was a very tight checking game and when you’re trailing those are the kinds of games you’d like to open up a little bit. They’re not going to open up very much. They’re a good, sound, defensive team. They don’t make many mistakes. We just had to try and execute a few more plays to open things up.”

Sam Bennett scored his 15th goal of the playoffs and a record setting 13th on the road — including six games in a row — and put the win on perspective.

“It’s a great opportunity,’’ he said of coming home with a chance to repeat. “We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. It’s going to be the hardest game, and I think we know that. The job’s not done yet.”

Paul Maurice spoke of the difference tonight and Game 4 in which the lead was blown.

“It’s the smallest things. It’s 2 feet of ice taken, a good stick, close support,’’ Maurice said. “When we got into the game in the second period of Game 4, we weren’t that far off. We were just 2 feet off.

“It’s these small margins of everything that happens on the ice. The danger of that team is always there. You’ve got to be a foot better, 2 feet better…All those small things. I didn’t feel as badly about our game [in Game 4] as the score says. The final score says that we should have. I didn’t think we were that far off in our last game. I also don’t think that there was an egregious difference tonight. The final score doesn’t tell the story. So many close plays. it’s just a lot tighter than the final score wants you to believe.”

Nobody is thinking about the order of handoffs yet.

The Panthers were happy, but far from gloating about the win.

Ask any player who’s been there, and he will tell you the final game is the most difficult.

The Panthers certainly found that out last year against an Oilers team that is also quite resilient.

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 6

EDMONTON OILERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Panthers Lead Best-of-7 Series 3-2

• When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT); Game 2: Florida 5, @Edmonton 4 (2OT); Game 3: @Florida 6, Edmonton 1; Game 4: Edmonton 5, @Florida 4 (OT); Game 5: Florida 5, @Edmonton 2; Game 6: @Florida Tuesday; Game 7*: @Edmonton Friday.
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• Regular Season: Panthers won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties