6/14/2025
EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Brad Marchand scored two goals for the Florida Panthers in a 5-2 Game 5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Florida stands one win away for lifting their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, subsequently repeating as Stanley Cup Champions.
Brad Marchand scored his pair of goals while Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Eetu Luostarinen lit the lamp for Panthers. Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored for the Oilers in the loss.
The Oilers returned to Edmonton after a wild Game 4. Leon Draisaitl scored the game winning overtime goal to down the Panthers 5-4. Calvin Pickard relieved Stuart Skinner after the Oilers trailed 3-0 after the first period. Pickard for the first time in the Stanley Cup Final earned the start for Edmonton in Game 5.
Florida off a center ice faceoff jumped in front early with Brad Marchand snapping a shot by Pickard to put the Cats up 1-0 at 9:12. The arrival of Marchand to the Panthers continues to pay massive dividends for Florida. The Marchand acquisition serves as a reminder of the impact Panthers General Manager Bill Zito brings. Late in the period, Sam Bennett extended his playoff record 13th road playoff goal at 18:06. Bennett’s snap shot whistled by Pickard to up the lead to 2-0. Florida outshot Edmonton 8-3 in the opening period.
Period two had Florida kill two Edmonton power plays, but no scoring for either team in the middle frame sent Florida with a 2-0 into the break.
20 minutes separated Florida from being one win away from lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup. Brad Marchand already lifted the Cup back in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. Marchand provided his signature moment. In a move reminiscent of Mario Lemieux 34 years prior, Marchand drove around Jake Walman before slipping the puck by Calvin Pickard. The goal at 5:12 gave the Panthers a 3-0.
Edmonton responded with a brilliant goal from Connor McDavid where he dished a feed away from Sam Reinhart. Mattias Ekholm slipped a pass to Evan Bouchard who found McDavid who tucked in his first goal of the series past the blocker side of Sergei Bobrovsky. The goal at 7:24 gave the Oilers life. That life did not last long.
Aleksander Barkov drifted a pass to the left slot for Sam Reinhart who fired a shot through traffic to counter for the Panthers. The goal at 8:10 came 46 seconds after McDavid had placed the Oilers on the board.
Corey Perry scored late for the Oilers at 16:47 to cut the deficit to two. Eetu Luostarinen iced the game for Florida with an empty net goal at 18:41.
The 5-2 Panthers win came thanks to 19 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky, but most notably two goals for Brad Marchand.
Brad Marchand said of the road win, “We knew it was not going to be an easy series against this group…we’re expecting it to be a grind…and you want to enjoy it.”
The Panthers return home with a chance to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
For the Oilers, the question bleeds into Game 6 of who will start in goal. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch did not disclose postgame who would start Game 6. He did say after the game about the Oilers outlook, “winning our last two games is something that we are confident we can do.”
The Oilers comeback hopes begin in Game 6, while Florida hopes to rendezvous with Lord Stanley for the second year in a row. Game 6 is scheduled for Tuesday night at 5 p.m. from Sunrise on TNT.
Stay up to the date on the Stanley Cup Final right here on ESN.
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