Panthers Back Home for Cup Final, Checkers Win in OT

The Florida Panthers are back home after beating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with a chance to bring home a championship for a second straight year on Tuesday night in Sunrise.

Up in North Carolina, the Charlotte Checkers evened their Calder Cup Final with the Abbotsford Canucks with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win on Sunday.

The Panthers and Checkers are vying to be the first affiliated teams to win the NHL and AHL championships in the same year since New Jersey and Albany did so in 1995.

After losing in controversial fashion on Friday night in Game 1, the Checkers got the win at 4:02 of overtime on Sunday when defenseman Mike Benning — drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 draft — powered home a power-play feed from Justin Sourdif.

“We played a full 60 minutes tonight and it paid off,’’ coach Geordie Kinnear said.

John Leonard and Wilmer Skoog both scored in a first period that saw all of the scoring until overtime. The two teams were tied at 2 until Benning scored.

Kaapo Kahkonen got the win with 11 saves; Charlotte threw up 42 shots in the win.

Game 3 is Tuesday night in British Columbia at 10 p.m.

STANLEY CUP FINAL / NHL LINKS

• The Panthers won Game 5 of the Cup Final in Edmonton on Saturday night and are a win away from winning the Stanley Cup for a second straight year.
• Brad Marchand’s incredible goal in the third period left the Panthers dumbfounded — and stunned the Oilers.
• After the experience last year, the Panthers hope they have their Stanley Cup jitters behind them.
• The Panthers learned from their mistakes from Game 4 to get what could be a series-changing win.
• TNT showed the watch party in Sunrise on Saturday night so fans can relax a bit.
• Shocking news: The Oilers say they are undecided on a starting goalie for Game 6.
• The Panthers have no goalie controversy. It’s Bob, Bob, Bob.
• If the Panthers win, Marchand and/or Sam Bennett will like win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
• Here is who the NHL.com writers pick for the Smythe going into Game 6.
• Sportsnet’s Luke Fox went to the Elbo Room for Game 5. Here is what went down on the corner of Las Olas and A1A.
• After a rough start to his career, Gus Forsling has turned his fortunes around with the Panthers.
• Marchand says he is really enjoying this experience with the Panthers. It sure looks like it.
• Will the Pittsburgh Penguins move up in the draft?
• The New York Islanders rumor mill keeps on churning.
• Former Panther Juho Lammikko is back in the NHL after signing with the New Jersey Devils.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to watch interviews with the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. Paul Maurice spoke from Edmonton before the flight; more from Fort Lauderdale later today.

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