The Edmonton Oilers have their backs against the wall after the Florida Panthers‘ dominant victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The visiting team walked into Rogers Place and handed Connor McDavid and company a brutal loss. There is no margin for error for the Oilers now, as their NHL season is on the line. Ahead of Game 6, one star on the team dropped a clear reminder for his teammates.
The Panthers continue to embrace the villain role in the 2024-25 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida has become the ultimate mischief-maker in the NHL, as opponents struggle to come up with answers.
McDavid and Edmonton are in over their heads after the crushing defeat on home ice in Game 5. The Panthers were simply the far better team throughout the full 60 minutes, and the scoreboard clearly reflected it.
Now, the Cats are just one win away from hoisting back-to-back Stanley Cups. The Oilers, on the other hand, are one deflating performance away from consecutive Final defeats to the Panthers.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins #93 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against the Florida Panthers during the first period in Game Two of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on June 06, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta.
That’s a sentiment no one in Edmonton’s locker wants to ever experience again after last year’s runner-up finish. In case anyone forgot, forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins delivered a sincere wake-up call to McDavid and the rest of the team.
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“We talked about playing with speed but, I mean, at the end of the day you’ve just got to go out there and do it,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game, per NHL.com. “We’ve got to find a way.”
Starting off slow
The Oilers scored the opening goal of the Stanley Cup Final series in Game 1, just 1:06 minutes into the game. It seemed McDavid and Edmonton would come out swinging out of the gate on every showdown. That couldn’t have been any further from the truth.
Since, the Panthers have scored the first goal in the next four games, imposing their will early in every matchup between the two sides. The Oilers have had to erase multi-goal deficits in both of their wins in the Final. Even though Edmonton has shown great capacity to complete comebacks in the playoffs, it’s not great advice against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the NHL.
Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers takes to the ice prior to a game against the Florida Panthers in Game One of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on June 04, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Bad signals
Edmonton has struggled tremendously in the opening periods of the series. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm made sure to remind his teammates of their shortcomings with a message heard loud and clearly in the locker room.
“I think we’ve come out flat now most of the series,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm admitted. “So that’s something I think is a mindset. I think we’ve just got to get pucks in, try to put pressure on them. They’re obviously a good team for a reason and they’ve come out and shown it early in games. And we’ve got to be better than that at the start.”
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Ekholm’s concerns are backed by hard evidence: the Panthers have outscored the Oilers 11–4 in first periods during the Stanley Cup Final. Starting strong is just as crucial at this stage as finishing the job. The former is an area the Oilers must address going into Game 6 if they want to keep their season alive and drag the Cats back to Edmonton for a winner-takes-all Game 7.
