The Florida Panthers are once again on the cusp of a Stanley Cup victory, having defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday evening by a 5-2 score.
Brad Marchand scored twice, while Sam Bennett added his 15th goal of the postseason, the most among all players. Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen also tallied for the Panthers, who got 19 saves from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored for the Oilers, while goaltender Calvin Pickard was unable to keep his undefeated streak alive. He is now 7-1 in the 2025 postseason.
The play of the Oilers drew the attention of former NHL defenseman and current Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa, who was critical in his assessment.
Kevin Bieksa Identifies Oilers’ Issues
While speaking during the second intermission of the game, when the Panthers held a 2-0 lead, Bieksa not only described the Oilers’ play as “hesitant” but said their entire mindset appeared to be wandering.
“I just think the whole mindset of this game has been off for the Oilers,” Bieksa said during the second intermission. “I think it’s a very safe mindset, it’s a very uptight mindset at times.”
“The evidence of that is — look at all the decisions they are making with the puck,” said Bieksa. “They are so hesitant, so reluctant to use the middle of the ice.”
Bieksa then praised the play along the boards that the Panthers utilize not only to their advantage but to the detriment of their opponents.
“The boards in this series is death,” Bieksa continued. “It is death for the Edmonton Oilers. “It is big Florida defensemen pinching, it is big wingers that love these little confrontations.”
“They are not using the middle of the ice, everything is along the wall,” Bieksa said. “Here we are, we’re 2-0, we’re in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and we have two periods of little safe plays by the Oilers.”
At this point, “little safe plays” are not going to be what gets the Oilers past the Panthers with everything on the line. They’ll have no choice but to start taking risks, as their playoff lives depend on it.
The Oilers are back in a familiar position of having no choice but to win out to keep their season alive. This time, it would be not only to keep playing but to avoid a second consecutive loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Panthers.
If Oilers choke out, sorry, WHEN Oilers choke out, it’ll be clear this team can’t win when it matters. Time to rebuild. They got the Buffalo Bills syndrome – always a brides maid – never the bride.