One week ago, the Florida Panthers were still lounging luxuriously with a 3-0 series lead in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The sweep attempt in the Finals would come the next night, but the result was far from what Florida fans had happily dreamt the nights before. No, instead the Edmonton Oilers offensive fireworks display popped off for eight goals securing another date at the Final.
The Florida Panthers found themselves with an opportunity to strike back at home in the next game. Unfortunately for the Cats, Game 5 resembled the prior game more than the initial games in the series. The Panthers allowed the Oilers to establish a multiple-goal lead and were unable to complete the comeback.
All of that leads us to tonight back in Edmonton for Game 6 at Rexall Place at the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Is tonight the night the Florida Panthers get the chance to claim Lord Stanley’s prize, or will the Edmonton Oilers mind-blowing scale the 3-0 series mountain to the summit for a Game 7 on Monday night?
Get your souvenir popcorn buckets fans – it ought to be a Friday Night SmackDown for a Stanley Cup game in Canada.
Third Time’s the Charm for Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in their history. The first two chances ended with low-hanging heads of defeat in the final round. Earlier in the series, the Panthers looked like they were on cruise control. Bobrovsky was tending madman you just said something mean about his mama, and Connor McDavid was about as quiet as you can keep him.
This entire 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final has hinged on the ability to establish and maintain a multi-goal advantage. Game 2 is the only outlier in which the eventual winning club did not establish a multi-goal advantage. Florida has allowed Edmonton to flip the script and gain the upper hand over the last two hockey games. If the Florida Panthers allow that to happen again tonight, they will likely be playing a Game 7 on Monday night.
Despite losses in the last two games of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice said he is more comfortable than when his team held the 3-0 series advantage last week:
“You’re going to think I’m lying to you,” Maurice said. “I’m more comfortable. I understand the feeling of 3-2 because most series are like that; 3-0 is more of an aberration, isn’t it? Pressure. I think we think about these things possibly differently and I’m not sure I would agree with the assessment that the pressure has shifted so heavily to us.
Florida – You Need To Calm Down
I have never been a professional athlete which is beyond shocking – I know. However, I’ve watched over 20+ years of hockey in my life. Therefore, I feel confident in my statement that you can see when a team is feeling the pressure a bit. My eyeballs tell me Florida is certainly feeling the walls closing in as the 3-0 advantage slowly slips away.
Thankfully, you can listen to someone with vastly more playoff experience than myself speaking on the situation as Florida’s Sam Bennett acknowledged post-game a few nights ago:
“I think we were gripping the sticks a little tight,” Panthers forward Sam Bennett acknowledged after Game 5. “We wanted it a little too bad tonight. … We’ve just got to win one game. It’s as simple as that.”
Suppose the Florida Panthers do manage to win that one game. In that case, Mr. Bennett and his feline-jersey-wearing friends will get to bat around some nice shiny jewelry this upcoming fall under a shiny new “2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final Champions” banner next fall.
About The Author
Christopher Babos is a genuine sports & entertainment journalist with diverse credentials in writing, broadcasting, and digital media. With various roles in the sports industry over two decades, Chris can speak with authority on the topics he covers. He can be located on X for real-time takes (@CBabosWrites).
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