Game 5: Ekman-Larsson cuts Edmonton’s lead to 4-3 in 3rd period
Posted June 18, 2024 6:39 pm.
Last Updated June 18, 2024 8:38 pm.
The Edmonton Oilers talked about the importance of an early goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final, and Connor Brown delivered.
After Stuart Skinner made back-to-back standout saves on Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk to open the first period, Brown thanked his goaltender at the other end of the ice.
With Brett Kulak in the box for high sticking, a speedy Brown intercepted a pass at his own blue line, raced down the ice and beat Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway at 5:30 to give Edmonton the 1-0 lead.
An interference penalty to Florida’s Niko Mikkola at the end of the first period proved costly for the home side early in the second. With the Oilers playing with the man advantage, an Evan Bouchard slap shot went off Zach Hyman’s leg and into the net at 1:58 for the 2-0 lead.
Bouchard became the fourth defenceman in NHL history with 30 points in a single postseason, while Hyman joined Alex Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby as the third active player to score 15 goals in the same playoff run.
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Captain Connor McDavid added a third for the Oilers just three minutes later by sneaking a puck past Bobrovsky from a tight angle — nearly along the goal line.
The Panthers got on the board through Matthew Tkachuk’s first of the final, a perfectly placed shot into the top-right corner of the net, glove side on Skinner, at 6:53.
Both teams traded quick goals midway through the period. Corey Perry found the back of the net at 11:54 after McDavid split three Panthers players, giving Edmonton a 4-1 lead.
McDavid’s three-point night gave him 41 these playoffs — the fourth highest point total in a single NHL postseason.
Florida replied almost immediately — 14 seconds later — when Evan Rodrigues chipped a loose, bouncing puck in the crease past Skinner to cut the deficit to two.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s snap shot at 4:04 of the third gave the Panthers new life.
