Things got dicey for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a while there between Games 2 and 3, as an undisclosed injury scare jeopardized his Stanley Cup Final series. Thankfully, Nugent-Hopkins bounced back, but couldn’t really make a difference in Game 5’s outcome. Instead, the Florida Panthers surged forward in the first period, establishing a lead that even the Comeback Kings couldn’t overcome this time.

Needless to say, the Oilers forward seemed quite upset to once again give up the opportunity to take the series lead. Instead, it was Brad Marchand and Sergei Bobrovsky, who once again proved to be the Oilers’ Achilles’ heel. Marchand put Florida on the board with a breakaway goal after a defensive error from the Oilers, while Sam Reinhart made the chase harder off a rebound from Matthew Tkachuk’s shot.

After the end of the first period, the Florida Panthers held a 7-0 scoring lead against Edmonton during the first period over the last three games. “Chasing a game over and over against a team like this, it’s very difficult. It was a tight-checking game all the way through. They took advantage of some opportunities, and we didn’t,” Nugent-Hopkins said in the locker room.

And he was right about not being able to capitalize on the opportunities. It’s not like both teams created many opportunities; it’s just that the Panthers scored when it mattered. The stats only strengthen that narrative, with Bobrovsky having to deal with only 21 shots on target, while Pickard faced even fewer at 18. To put the lack of scoring opportunities into perspective, Bobrovsky had to save over 40 shots in both Games 1 and 2.

What was even more frustrating for the Oilers was that they did come close. McDavid hit the post, while Bobrovsky made some crucial saves in the opening 10 minutes. “We know that we can get it done. It’s just a matter of going out there and finding a way to do it. Obviously going to be our hardest challenge yet,” said Nugent-Hopkins. However, stopping Florida’s forwards could be one way to do it.

The record-breaking Florida Panthers’ offensive line

While the Edmonton Oilers have certainly shown grit, especially in Games 1 and 4, they have failed to stop the likes of Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett. In fact, it seems every time these two touch the puck, they seem to set a new record. Let’s take a look at Sam Bennett first, because the forward is the postseason goals leader with 15 goals to his name. But that’s not really a record, you say.

Well, this one is. Game 5 saw the Florida Panthers forward score his 13th goal on the road in a single postseason. Bennett broke that record after scoring his 12th away goal in Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers. “12 road goals in the playoffs for Bennett — a new NHL record,” wrote NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. Now he’s simply adding to it. Yet, even Bennett’s record-breaking ways fell short in front of Brad Marchand.

The man who played against the Florida Panthers for the entirety of his NHL career has suddenly become the reason behind their immense success. That’s because Marchand has set not one, not two, but three NHL records while taking on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Co. The first one came when the 37-year-old scored the winning goal in Game 2.

He became the first player in NHL history to score a shorthanded goal and then score the winning goal during OT. Yet, that was only the beginning. Marchy then scored again in Game 3, unlocking yet another record. “Brad Marchand is now the oldest player to score in the first 3 games of a Stanley Cup Final,” wrote NHL News as the Cats’ star dethroned Frank Mahovlich.

Finally, Game 5 saw Marchand join an all-time great, Mario Lemieux. “Brad Marchand joins Mario Lemieux as the only players in NHL history to score five goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals in the last 59 years,” Chris Johnston wrote on X. What’s more? Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, and others are scoring alongside these two record setters. So it’s pretty clear that the Cats are on a roll, and the Oilers definitely need to suppress this record-setting firepower if they hope to force a Game 7.