It’s Christmas in June. Don’t believe me? Well, maybe Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice might be more convincing. “Oh, this is as good as this thing gets. This is Christmas, this is the payoff,” said Coach Maurice after the Oilers pulled off a playoff comeback for the ages. From being down 3-0 after the first period, the Oilers tied the series 2-2, winning it 5-4 in overtime. And now we’re going back to Edmonton.

After losing one and winning another at the Amerant Bank Arena, the Oilers’ stars will finally get a break from the humidity of the Sunshine State. However, that spell troubles the Cats. “I mean, everybody knows what the crowd’s going to be like, Saturday night in Alberta, it’s going to be exciting,” Corey Perry said after winning Game 4. You’d think the Panthers won’t share that sentiment about the prospect of returning to the stadium where they lost their 31-game streak, but Aleksander Barkov may surprise you.

The media asked how the Florida Panthers plan to handle the pressure, especially now that the Oilers have the momentum again. After all, the Oiler fan base has a life of its own. Yet, Aleksander Barkov said he is ready to enjoy the atmosphere at Rogers Place. “We’re excited. It’s going to be a great atmosphere once again. They know how to cheer,” explained the Panthers forward.

“So, it’s going to be loud and fun,” added the Cats’ captain. It’s surprising considering the Oilers broke their 31-0 win streak, “when holding a lead at the end of the first or second period in #StanleyCup Playoffs games,” under Paul Maurice in Game 1. However, this is a defending champion we are talking about, and they don’t beat themselves up about such things.

However, the quick turnaround time and the travelling will mean that the Panthers will neither have much time or mental bandwidth to reflect on what went wrong in Game 4. But Paul Maurice will try his best, and the Cats are ready to take on the challenge.

A battle of determination between Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers

Despite the loss, the quick turnaround, the Cats’ players ultimately aren’t too worried. “It feels like we just finished. But you just take care of yourself as good as possible,” said Aleksander Barkov about the short rest they’re getting. And Barkov’s teammate, defenseman Gustav Forsling, showed that same mentality when speaking about Game 5.

In fact, the Florida Panthers’ defenseman was glad they’ll be jumping back into action at short notice after the loss. “We are a very confident group, and I am sure we will watch the video on what we can do better and execute on. The good thing is, we have a game tomorrow. So we’re ready to bounce right back. We’re very excited to get back,” Forsling told the media ahead of Game 5.

Meanwhile, the Oilers are ready to take the fight to the defending champions. After that Game 4 first periods, things looked rocky for the Oilers, but they bounced back hard. “We’re a resilient group. We’re never going to quit no matter what,” said Oilers Game 4 hero Leon Draisaitl. While he admitted that his historic goal was a “fortunate bounce,” he also expressed the mindset that helped them close the gap before getting lucky.

“Our group never quits… We believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we’re going to keep pushing, we’re going to keep coming,” said the Oilers star. Leon Draisaitl’s 4th OT goal was a Stanley Cup Playoff record. He surpassed Matthew Tkachuk, teammate Corey Perry, Maurice Richard, and Mel Hill as the NHL star with the most OT goals in one season.