EDMONTON — Winning the ends of games is never a bad thing, but the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t mind experiencing what it’s like to play a decent first period — and of course, stay out of the penalty box.
They gave Florida seven first-period power plays in Games 3 and 4, and not surprisingly, found themselves behind the eight-ball in both games. Evander Kane took three of those minors — including a pair of high-sticking calls.
“I’m just not going to talk about it,” Kane said Saturday morning. “Just get ready for Game 5 and see what happens out there. But, yeah, you want to play as hard as you possibly can.”
“We can’t be chasing games like we have been all series long, really. So I would expect a good start tonight,” said captain Connor McDavid, who brings his team home in a different scenario than last season, when Florida took a 3-0 series lead and the Oilers battled back to force a Game 7.
“It’s a different feeling than it was last year. Being down three, chasing the whole series,” he said. “It’s a chance to put ourselves in a good spot here tonight with a big effort. We’re excited. I’m sure they’re excited too. Everyone’s excited. It’s been such a good atmosphere (at Rogers Place) all playoffs long. We expect nothing less.”
McDavid is still in search of his first Stanley Cup Final goal, though his six assists ties him for second in series scoring behind Leon Draisaitl’s seven points. McDavid (6-26-32) and Draisaitl (11-21-32) are 10 points clear atop the NHL’s playoff scoring race of the third-ranked player, Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen.
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With the Stanley Cup within reach, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are set to battle once again for hockey’s ultimate prize. Watch every game of the Final on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Leads no longer safe
Prior to this splendid rematch, the playoff Panthers were an eye-popping 31-0 under coach Paul Maurice when holding a lead after the first or second period.
The resilient Oilers have already hung two comeback losses on the Cats. No lead is safe here.
“Your heart rate goes up and down, and you think it’s over and then it’s not,” Gustav Forsling says. “It’s a lot of fun for playoffs, and I think for the fans, too.”
The way Florida blew Game 4, however, is unique.
Up by three, chasing the other guys’ goalie, at home, in complete control… and then you take two stick penalties and shoot a puck over glass, giving a deadly power-play time to twist momentum.
Tough pill. They had ’em on the ropes.
The gap between a 2-2 series and a 3-1 set is cavernous.
“Learn from it. Forget about it. Obviously, it sucks. You never want to be in the situation where you give up a three-goal lead, but that’s life in the playoffs. And it’s not supposed to be easy,” says veteran Aaron Ekblad.
“It’s something to go look at and see what plays went wrong, and whether it was a philosophy thing, where we just have to not get tight. But whatever it is, you learn from it, leave it in the past and move on.”
Both seasoned squads have proven elite at turning the page, be it blowout or OT heartbreak. They’ve passed mental tests.
“We have a really good handle on the depth of it — that you don’t allow it to get too deep,” Maurice said. “We’ve had two overtime losses now that are painful, and we’ve enjoyed the two wins. We are flat now, best two out of three.
“I felt this way about the series last year,. I think it’s great for the game. We’ve got a Canadian team and a U.S.-based team. We’ve got some of the best players in the world for sure, incredible depth on both teams.
“You’re going, and then you’re not. And everybody is trying. It’s impressive to watch.”
What’s up with the stare down?
Prior to Game 4 in Sunrise, Panthers backup Vitek Vanecek positioned himself mirror-like in front of Oilers starter Stuart Skinner’s grill and conducted his warmup routine:
So… what was the deal there, Vanecek?
Were you trying to crawl in Skinner’s head before he gave up three goals on 17 shots in the first period?
“No. It’s just my routine,” Vanecek explained Saturday morning.
How long has it been your routine?
“It’s a new one. For this series.”
Calvin Pickard — the Oilers’ backup-turned-starter here — interrupted and asked Vanecek if he wanted to go stretch beside him instead.
“No, I’m good,” Vanecek replied. “I like this side.”
Line dance
Kasperi Kapanen comes out of the lineup for the first time since Game 4 of Edmonton’s Rd. 2 series against Vegas, replaced by Viktor Arvidsson, as head coach Kris Knoblauch swaps a Swede for a Finn in his starting 12 forwards.
Arvidsson has played in 14 of the Oilers’ 20 playoff games, chipping in 2-5-7. He’ll play on a depth line with centre Mattias Janmark and left-winger Kane.
Defenceman Troy Stecher stays in the lineup after playing just 4:18 in Game 4 and will start on a pairing with Darnell Nurse.
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Brown
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Perry
Skinner – Henrique – Frederic
Kane – Janmark – Arvidsson
Kulak – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Ekholm – Walman
Pickard starts
Skinner
While the Oilers switch goalies like pants, mix their pairs, and tweak their forwards, the Panthers have remained consistent with their personnel. Any lineup changes, Coach, after giving up a three-goal lead in Game 4?
“No. None,” Maurice said. “We’re healthy.”
Verhaeghe – Barkov – Reinhart
Rodrigues – Bennett – Tkachuk
Luostarinen – Lundell – Marchand
Greer – Nosek – Gadjovich
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Schmidt – Kulikov
Bobrovsky starts
Vanecek
Pickard’s A Player
While Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky does not talk on game days — and that can include post-game as well — the Edmonton media is blessed to have two goalies who will each talk on the morning of a game — whether they’re starting or not.
We have encountered teams over the years who would try to make their Game 5 starter a state secret. But not the Oilers, who ran Pickard out on the podium on Saturday morning to talk about his first start of this Cup Final.
“I’ve been doing it all year. I talk on game (days), always have throughout my career. And this is a game day,” reasoned the 33-year-old veteran who is making the first Final start of a long NHL career. “The magnitude of the game’s big, but I feel just like I would in November or December. I’m excited to get back to my house, have a nap, get back to the rink and get to work.”
Pickard is an easy guy to like, a battler who signed in Edmonton to be the No. 3 guy and play in the minors. Fate changed that plan, and today he’ll face Florida in front of 18,500 fans and several million more across Canada and the world, in a series that has been must-watch hockey thus far.
“I guess you could look at today as the biggest game in my life, but he last game was the biggest game in my life until the next one,” he said. “It’s been a great journey, I’ve been a lot of good places, (and he’s) grateful that I had the chance to come to Edmonton a couple years ago. This is what you play for.”
Five stats for Game 5
• We’ve waited 74 years for a Cup Final with more than three overtime games, and only one NHL championship has had more than three. In 1951, all five Cup games needed extra time.
• Game 4 was Edmonton’s fourth multi-goal comeback win of 2025, one shy of the NHL record held by the 1987 Flyers.
• Cheapest verified ticket we could find to enter Rogers Place Saturday night? $1,394.32 for a single-seat nose-bleeder. Most expensive? At the glass for a mellow $13,456.
• The Panthers (9-3 away from Florida) can match the NHL record for road wins in one playoff year. The Cats already own the NHL record for most road goals in one postseason (56).
