The last thing a team wants to do in a playoff series is give their opponents hope. Doors that are slightly open should be closed immediately.
The Florida Panthers had two chances to beat the Edmonton Oilers and win their first-ever Stanley Cup title. But Sergei Bobrovsky was out of the game (.769 save percentage) and Connor McDavid used Games 4 and 5 to show everyone that his team wouldn’t go down without a fight. 4 nights in a row.
McDavid said ahead of Game 5 in Florida that the Oilers want to drag the Panthers “back to Alberta.” That meant another game and another 2,500 mile flight.
He got his wish, and while Panthers coach Paul Maurice can tell there’s pressure in Edmonton right now, his team is one that has lost three in a row and doesn’t want to leave the series to a winner-take-all. Any game 7 that could have unfortunate historical consequences for his franchise.
“When you have nothing to lose, you have the freedom to do that. If you have something to protect, sometimes you feel pressured to protect it,” Morris said Thursday. “So now that we’re approaching the evening of this series, I think the pressure (between us) has become closer.”
The Panthers will enter Friday’s Game 6 (8 p.m. ET, ABC) feeling confident. The Stanley Cup will be held at Rogers Place awaiting presentation if the Panthers win. Euler saw their With two big wins and their captain McDavid playing at his usual level, confidence grew.
Small mistakes are magnified at this stage and the Panthers know what areas they need to do better to get back to the way they played earlier in the series. Florida tried to come back in Game 5, but to no avail. However, players noticed that despite the scoring effect, they did not lose the game outright.
“We’re that team. I mean, we’ve been that team all year,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “In Game 4 here, we had a few mistakes in a period and a half, but for the most part we’ve been pretty consistent. We really like the 5-on-5 game. We’re comfortable. As good as anyone in the world with that. Fight back.”
Only one team has ever won the Cup after falling behind 3-0 in the Cup Final: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers are trying for the second time to achieve this.
“There’s no group better prepared for what’s going on than this group here,” McDavid said.
2024 Stanley Cup Finals Schedule (Panda Lead Series 3-2)
game 1: Panthers 3, Oilers 0
game 2: Panthers 4, Oilers 1
game 3: Panthers 4, Oilers 3
game 4: Oilers 8, Panthers 1
game 5: Oilers 5, Panthers 3
game 6: Euler’s Panther | Friday, June 21 at 8 PM ET (ABC, ESPN+)
*Game 7: Panthers oiler | Monday, June 24, 8 PM ET (ABC, ESPN+)
(*If you need)
