The Florida Panthers are now one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions after beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 5 of this year’s final.
Brad Marchand opened the scoring for the visiting Panthers halfway into the first period after he corralled the puck off a centre ice faceoff, split Edmonton’s defence and roofed a shot past goalie Calvin Pickard.
Sam Bennett pushed the lead to 2-0 late in the first after a blocked shot fortuitously fell to him in the slot, and he snapped a shot past an out-of-position Pickard.
In the second period, Florida withstood multiple spells of Edmonton pressure — including killing off two Oilers power plays — to keep the score intact.
In contrast, the third period saw a flurry of goals.
Five minutes into the third, Marchand scored his second of the game at after slipping the puck past Edmonton defender Jake Walman before stuffing it in past Pickard.
It took Edmonton just two minutes to respond, with captain Connor McDavid stickhandling around an outstretched Sergei Bobrovsky in the Florida goal, but Sam Reinhart restored the three-goal lead about 40 seconds later with a wrist shot from left side face off circle.
With three minutes left in the game, and Pickard on the bench for an extra attacker, Oilers’ Corey Perry scored from the blue line with a speculative shot toward goal that beat a screened Bobrovsky.
But Edmonton’s comeback hopes were dashed after Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen scored a cross-rink empty net goal from his own defensive zone.
Now leading the series 3-2, the Panthers have a chance to close out the series at home in Florida on Tuesday.
