If you watch the Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Mic’d Up episode on the Florida Panthers’ YouTube channel, you won’t find anything out of the ordinary. From Brad Marchand hyping up the boys in the tunnel to Coach Paul Maurice shouting instructions, and finally the team congratulating one another after the game, it’s all pretty run-of-the-mill. However, the curated Mic’d Up highlights may not tell the whole story.

At least that’s what TSN’s James Duthie hinted at earlier on X. The NHL insider explained that the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers’ finals rivalry, which is in its second year, has already reached a fever pitch. While both teams have been nothing but respectful toward one another during media availability, the scenario is supposedly quite different for those who have heard the uncensored trash talk.

“Multiple people, who are involved or close enough to hear it all, say this is the nastiest trash-talking Stanley Cup Final they’ve ever seen. Usually, some subjects are off limits. Not here. Everything on the table,” revealed the NHL commentator. In fact, the trash talk is so intense that Duthie quoted an unnamed source saying it’s “Pure verbal hate.”

This comes after Florida Panthers’ alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk claimed that the psychological effect trash talk has on players won’t be effective against the Oilers. “They’ve got the experience over the last few years, where you know? You’re not going to really do a whole lot that’s gonna mentally get in their head,” Tkachuk said on the Pat McAfee show ahead of the final.

While we don’t know how the ‘nasty’ trash talk is actually affecting the players, it’s safe to assume Paul Maurice is enjoying it. After all, Maurice lamented how the art of truly effective trash talk has all but disappeared. “It’s completely a lost art. Kind of sad, actually. Some of the chirps are sad.” Maurice lamented in April. Well, if you take James Duthie’s word, then this year things are the opposite of sad. Unfortunately for those enjoying this aspect of the game on the ice, it might not last beyond Game 6.

The Edmonton Oilers’ Stanley Cup Final is on the brink

The Oilers got off to a blistering start this year, breaking a 14-year drought to become the first Canadian team to clinch a series lead after Game 1 since 2011. It was a testament to the sentiment of a better Oilers squad that had improved and learned from their 2024 postseason mistakes. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter because they took that series lead in Game 3.

And while the Edmonton Oilers pulled off their 8th comeback victory of this postseason in the Stanley Cup Final Game 4, the Panthers halted that momentum in Game 5. Now, the Canadian NHL team finds itself on the brink of falling short of its Stanley Cup dream for a second time in a row. “Our backs are against the wall,” said Oilers star Corey Perry.

However, the team isn’t ready to give up the crown just yet. “After a disappointing game all around, you have to bounce back… It’s the playoffs — if you don’t, everything is done. It’s over and we’re going home for the summer,” added the Oilers forward. What’s more? The entire Edmonton squad is mentally ready to do what they do best: make another comeback.

“For whatever reason, our group doesn’t like to make it easy on ourselves,” said team captain Connor McDavid. “We’ve put ourselves in another difficult spot. It’s our job to work our way out of it, and I would expect that tomorrow,” McDavid said ahead of their most important Stanley Cup Final game yet. And if James Duthie is to be believed, then the trash talk will probably be at its peak in Game 6.