Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals will take place on Tuesday. The Edmonton Oilers are on the road at the Florida Panthers. The Florida Panthers lead the best of seven series 3-1. The Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination in the last game, beating the Panthers 8-1. Now, they will look to win their first road game of the series.
The Edmonton Oilers went 49-27-6 in the regular season. The Oilers lost their final two games, but went through the postseason by beating the Kings, Canucks and Stars. Edmonton lost the first three games of the Stanley Cup Finals, and allowed 11 total goals.
For the Florida Panthers, they remain one win away from winning it all. The Panthers won the Atlantic Division by winning their final four games of the season. The Panthers knocked off Tampa Bay, Boston and New York in the postseason.
The Florida Panthers are -135 at home over the Edmonton Oilers in this game. The total for the affair is set at 5.5 goals.
Western Conference Champion Oilers
The Oilers offense finally exploded. One of the most explosive offenses in all of the National Hockey League was held to just four goals through the first three games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton scored three in each of the first two periods, and ended the game with 8.
Despite the struggles, the top scorer Connor McDavid has recorded points in each of the last three games. In the game 4 win, he dished out three assists and scored a goal. During the regular season, McDavided played in 76 games, and scored 32 goals and dished out 100 assists.
Edmonton has used Stuart Skinner in between the net for every game since the first round. Skinner after winning three in a row, and allowing a total of four goals, allowed 9 in the three straight losses. He turned away 32 shots in the Game 4 win.
Eastern Conference Champion Panthers
For Florida, Vladimir Tarasenko scored the lone goal. It was his fifth of the postseason. The Panthers went six straight games, and did not allowed opponents to score more than 3 goals in a game. So, the 8 point explosion allowed was definitely out of character. Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled from the game early, after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots.
The Panthers, during the regular season scored 3.23 goals per game. They recorded more than 33 shots per game, and scored on 23.5% of their power play chances. The defense for Florida allowed 2.41 goals per game, which was the best in all of the league.
The top scorer during the regular season was Sem Reinhart. He scored 57 goals and dished out 37 assists. Matthew Tkachuk played 80 games for Florida, and led the team with 62 assists, while scoring 26 goals.
Oilers Season Ends
The Edmonton Oilers have had a great season, but it is coming to an end. They went crazy in Game 4, but the Panthers are heading home, and going to play much better defense. Florida wins this game, and becomes Stanley Cup Champions. Enjoy the game!
