The Edmonton Oilers helped hockey fans on Saturday night when they dominated the Panthers with an 8-1 victory. They extended the series to five games, and no matter how you feel about rooting for a fellow Canadian team if you're a Canadiens fan, you have to wish this series goes six or seven.
Rogers Place was rocking on Saturday night. It started with a Shania Twain concert outside the arena and ended with the fans serenading the Canadian pop icon with her hit song, "Man! I Feel Like A Woman." The vibes were at an all-time high inside Rogers Place, and the Panthers have to be hoping they finish this series in five.
If the Oilers can pull off the Game 5 victory, there's no way the Panthers can feel comfortable heading back to Edmonton.
How To Watch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals
Date: June 18th, 2024
Time: 8 PM ET, 5 PM PT
TV: Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports, ESPN
Game 5 storylines
There have been 28 teams in NHL history that fell behind 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final. The only team to come back was the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. The Oilers' performance over the last four periods gives reason to believe they could rally in this series. They've outscored the Panthers 10-1 over that span and came up just short of a three-goal comeback in Game 3.
Connor McDavid will have to be the catalyst again after his four-point performance in Game 4. He has six goals and 32 assists this postseason, which broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL record for most assists in a single postseason.
It's not something that the Oilers haven't done already this season. They have been the comeback kids all year, after starting the season 2-9-1 and falling to 32nd in the league. The Oilers have also lost three straight games on three occasions since Kris Knoblauch took over the head coaching position. Edmonton has gone 8-0-0, 16-0-0, and 5-0-0, in the following games when that happened.
Oilers forward Connor Brown talked about their resiliency post-game:
"“That’s kind of what we showed at the beginning of the year when we were dead last, our backs against the wall and we came out and had some historic runs, so I think we’re a new club in that regard. When we get in a rhythm and we get playing our brand of hockey, we know what it feels like and (Saturday) night, we knew exactly what it feels like. We’re a scary club.”"Connor Brown
The Panthers have been too good this postseason to lose four consecutive games in the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Oilers' ability to rally off consecutive wins is something to monitor. Either way, Game 5 should be must-see TV.