5-2
5 3rd period goals. You didn't think the over 6.5 had a shot.
5 3rd period goals. You didn't think the over 6.5 had a shot.
Brad Marchand makes history with two goals in Panthers' win.
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Brad Marchand didn't just lead the Florida Panthers to within one win of lifting the Stanley Cup with his Game 5 heroics Saturday night. He made NHL playoff history.Marchand became the first player to score at least five goals in two separate Stanley Cup Final series with two different teams. He scored five goals in seven games for the Boston Bruins in their 2011 Stanley Cup championship win over the Vancouver Canucks. His two vital goals in the Panthers' 5-2 win in Game 5 against the Edmonton Oilers gave him six goals in five games in this Stanley Cup Final.
What would 2011 Brad Marchand think of 2025 Brad Marchand, doing this at 37 years old?
"Man, that guy's good-looking. That'd probably be it," he said after the game, drawing laughter. "Sometimes you get bounces, sometimes you don't. But definitely grateful to have another opportunity to be in the finals and be part of a really good team."
Most Games With 4+ Goals - Single Playoffs
For the 15th time this postseason, the Panthers have scored at least four goals, tied for second in Stanley Cup playoff history, behind only the 1991 Penguins.
| 1991 Penguins | 16 |
| 2025 Panthers | 15 |
| 1990 Oilers | 15 |
| 1984 Oilers | 15 |
| 1983 Islanders | 15 |
| 1981 Islanders | 15 |
Marchand now has 10 goals and 10 assists in 22 playoff games for the Panthers.
He made even more history in the Panthers' Game 5 win. He is just the seventh player in NHL history to have five or more goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals, with Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux (1991, '92) the last one to accomplish the feat. His six goals are the most in the Stanley Cup Final for any player 35 or older and the most by any player since Esa Tikkanen with Oilers in 1988. His five goals on the road are the most in a Stanley Cup Final since Jack Adams of the Vancouver Millionaires scored six in 1922.
"He's amazing. He's been a leader for us. He's been scoring big goals for us. Tonight, he made the hell of an effort by himself," said Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Marchand opened the scoring at 9:12 of the first period with a great individual effort, corralling a loose puck, shielding it from Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm and firing it past Calvin Pickard, who got the start over Stuart Skinner in Game 5.
Sam Bennett scored his 15th goal of the playoffs late in the first period to make it 2-0, which remained the margin until Marchand struck again in the third period on an even more impressive individual effort. Linemate Eetu Luostarinen poked the puck ahead to Marchand, who deked defenseman Jake Walman to the ice with a move to the net before tucking the puck through Pickard's 5-hole for the 3-0 lead.
Bennett was left astonished by the second Marchand goal.
"I mean, they're both unbelievable, but that second one, I don't know how he did that," Bennett said. "We're going to have to watch that clip a couple times and ask him to teach me something."
Florida coach Paul Maurice said he knew Marchand was skilled before the Panthers acquired him from the Bruins at the NHL trade deadline in March, as the winger is 20 points away from 1,000 points in his 16-year NHL career. But until he got on the ice with him, Maurice didn't realize how great Marchand was with the "small area things" that he does, like on his two goals in Game 5.
"What he can do under duress in a small area is world-class. It's as good as I've seen," Maurice said.
The Panthers are now one victory away from back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, bouncing back from a Game 4 overtime loss on home ice that evened the series at 2-2. Again, it's Marchand who has led the way whenever the Panthers stumble. The veteran winger has points in every game after a Florida loss, with seven goals and four assists in those games. He also has two game-winning overtime goals after losses, including in Game 2 of this series.
"I've said it a ton of times, we're just enjoying the moment," Marchand said. "It's a special time, special memories we're going to have forever ... not really nervous, just excited."
The Panthers continued to be one of the most successful road teams in NHL playoff history with a dominant, suffocating effort against the Oilers. Florida built a 3-0 lead with a relentless forecheck, great penalty killing on three Edmonton power plays and a strong 19-save effort from Bobrovsky. The Oilers, with a chance to take control of the series on home ice, were held scoreless for the first 47:24 of the game.
Having previously blown multigoal leads in the series, the Panthers remained poised as the Oilers twice cut their deficit to two goals, on scores by Connor McDavid and Corey Perry. But Sam Reinhart and Luostarinen each scored to give Florida a three-goal advantage, the latter on an empty-netter for the final tally.
The Panthers are 10-3 on the road, tying the single playoff-year record held by six other teams, five of whom won the Stanley Cup. To break the record, the Panthers would have to return to Edmonton for a Game 7.
They would rather not have the chance.
"The more times you're in situations like this, the more comfortable you're going to be. We've been staying in the moment very well all postseason," said Reinhart.
Florida has a chance to close out the Oilers for the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night at home, but that has not been a guarantee for the Panthers. They failed to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of their second-round series, needing a seventh game to beat the Leafs. They also lost a closeout game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, not to mention the three elimination game losses they suffered against the Oilers in last season's Stanley Cup Final before winning in Game 7.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said the Oilers are ready to rally again.
"We're never going to quit on each other," he said. "We're going into Florida with a job to do, and we'll do everything we can to do it."
Bennett said the Panthers have grown since nearly squandering the championship a year ago.
"It's extremely tough. It's a moment you think about your whole life, and it's in the back of your head. I think we can learn from that experience from last year," he said. "I think we were already looking ahead before we were ready to put in the work to get the job done. We know what we have to do now."
Oilers turn back to Stuart Skinner in goal in must-win Game 6.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Edmonton Oilers, facing elimination against the Florida Panthers in Game 6 on Tuesday night, have flipped back to Stuart Skinner as their starting goalie.Skinner was pulled in Games 3 and 4 in Florida and was benched in favor of backup Calvin Pickard in their Game 5 loss in Edmonton that game the Panthers a 3-2 series lead.
"Feeling good coming into tonight. I definitely know that I have the confidence in my teammates and coaching staff," Skinner said after Edmonton's morning skate. "I think there's obviously a lot of belief here still."
Skinner was benched after the first period in Game 4, having given up three goals on 17 shots. Pickard stopped 22 of 23 shots as the Oilers won in overtime to even the Stanley Cup Final at 2-2. Pickard got the start in Game 5 in Edmonton, giving up four goals on 18 shots in a 5-2 loss, which put Florida in a position to raise their second straight Stanley Cup over the Oilers.
Skinner was also pulled in the third period of their Game 3 blowout loss in Florida after giving up five goals on 23 shots. He said it was hard watching Edmonton play from the bench over the last three games.
"My job is to stop the puck when I'm told to go in the net. Sometimes I get told that I'm not [in the net]. For sure, it's disappointing," Skinner said. "I've just got to stick to what my job is. [Those decisions] are over my pay grade. Whenever they tell me to go on the net, I'm definitely not going to say 'no.'"
Knoblauch said after Game 5 that "there's no fault at Calvin at all on any of those goals." But with their season on the line, the Oilers coach decided to go back to Skinner.
"Stu has been in a lot of high-pressure games. He's played really well," Knoblauch said. "We looked at the amount of elimination games he's played in. I think there were six last year. Every game that he played in, they were really solid if not spectacular performances. So, season on the line, we've got a lot of confidence in him."
Three of those elimination games came against the Panthers, who failed to close out Edmonton in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after building at 3-0 series lead, needing to win in Game 7 to hoist the Cup for the first time as a franchise. Skinner was great in their Game 6 win in Edmonton, stopping 20 of 21 shots to force a winner-take-all game.
He's trying to repeat that feat one year later and extend the Stanley Cup Final to a seventh game back in Edmonton on Friday night.
"He's amazing in the playoffs and had incredible games this year. There's just a trust factor that we know that he can get the job done for us," Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said. "In Game 4, he was amazing in the first period. It was us that let him down. It doesn't seem fair, right? So, we have full belief in him."
Skinner, 26, was the Oilers' primary starter in the regular season with a 26-18-4 record in 51 games and was their starter to begin the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. But after giving up 11 goals in the first two games of the series, he was replaced as starter by 33-year-old backup Pickard, who has played for six NHL teams in 10 seasons. Pickard went 6-0 until an injury in the second round against Vegas gave Skinner the starting job again.
Overall, Pickard is 7-1 with a .886 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average. Skinner is 7-6 with a .891 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average.
In other Oilers lineup changes, defenseman John Klingberg draws in for defenseman Troy Stecher, while forward Kasperi Kapanen replaces winger Viktor Arvidsson up front.
The Panthers have struggled with closing out opponents over their last two runs to the Stanley Cup Final. They needed seven games to eliminate Edmonton last year. They lost Game 6 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round and lost Game 4 at home in the Eastern Conference Final to Carolina. In both instances, they eliminated their opponent in the following game.
"We're going to have to do a great job of matching their desperation," defenseman Seth Jones said. "At the same time, we go into every series planning on playing seven games. We want to approach each game the same as the one before and that's what we're going to do tonight."
Pulled goalie with 7 minutes left
4-0
4-0
Over backers aren't dead yet
LMAO
5-0
LMAO
5-0
