Oilers Fend Off Elimination Again, Top Panthers 5-3 in Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists, adding to his historic postseason performance as the Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination by defeating the Florida Panthers 5-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.

Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, and Corey Perry also scored for the Oilers, who netted the game’s first three goals to take control. Edmonton managed to hold off a late Florida surge, reducing the Panthers’ lead in the series to 3-2. Stuart Skinner made 30 saves for the Oilers, with McDavid securing the win with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.

Evan Rodrigues and Matthew Tkachuk each recorded a goal and an assist for Florida, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson also found the net for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots for Florida, extending the franchise’s 30-year wait for its first Stanley Cup title by at least three more days.

Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night in Edmonton.

McDavid’s four points brought his playoff total to 42, the fourth-highest in a single postseason in NHL history. Only Wayne Gretzky (47 points in 1985, 43 in 1988) and Mario Lemieux (44 in 1991) have recorded more points in a single playoff run. McDavid hopes to add to his total in at least one more game, potentially two, if the series extends to Game 7 in Sunrise on Monday night.

This marked the first time in Panthers history they played a home game with the chance to clinch the Cup. Another sellout crowd attended, with some paying over $1,000 for tickets on the secondary market, pushing Florida’s total attendance for the season over one million for the first time.

However, the Oilers prevented Florida from claiming the trophy.

Edmonton entered the game having scored 10 of the series’ last 11 goals—scoring two goals in the third period of their Game 3 loss, followed by an 8-1 victory in Game 4.

The Oilers continued their momentum with a strong display of special-teams play in Game 5.

The game began similarly to Game 4, with Edmonton scoring a shorthanded goal. Brown, who assisted on the goal Saturday night, scored unassisted in this game, setting the tone early. Florida’s Niko Mikkola took an interference penalty as the first period ended, which proved costly.

Hyman made it 2-0 with a power-play goal just two seconds into the second period, and McDavid extended Edmonton’s lead to 3-0 with a goal from a tough angle three minutes later.

Historically, a three-goal lead in the Stanley Cup Final has been almost insurmountable; no team had lost after leading by three in a title-series game since Edmonton against Carolina in 2006. Since then, teams with a three-goal lead in the Final had a 39-0 record.

Now, that record stands at 40-0, but the Panthers fought back.

By the end of the second period, the score was 4-2, with Tkachuk and Rodrigues scoring around Perry’s first playoff goal, which was set up by a brilliant McDavid pass. Ekman-Larsson scored early in the third period, but Florida couldn’t find the equalizer. Skinner remained solid in net, repeatedly denying the Panthers and ensuring the series returns to Edmonton for Game 6.