Florida Panthers on Brink of Stanley Cup Glory as They Prepare to Face Edmonton Oilers in Game 6
The Florida Panthers are on the verge of making history, leading the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final. According to the NHL, the Panthers will look to close out the series on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena, where they will host Game 6.
This is not a new position for the Panthers, who have found themselves with a chance to win a series in 10 instances over the past three seasons. As per the NHL, they have a mixed record in these situations, having won four and lost six. In the past two seasons, their record is 2-5, and they will be looking to draw on their experience of last season’s Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately lost to the Oilers in Game 7.
The Panthers’ captain, Aleksander Barkov, believes that experience will be crucial in this game. As quoted by the NHL, "The experience helps and every series you learn something. Those games, they teach you a lot. Obviously, when the time comes and you have a chance to end the series or stuff like that or you have that big game, obviously, you want it so much that you’re maybe trying to do a little too much, like you’re trying to do something different than what you’ve been (doing)."
The key to success, according to Barkov, is for the Panthers to stick to what they have been doing. The NHL reports that this means being the team that turned their game on as soon as the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, a team that has won 10 of 11 series over the past three seasons.
Matthew Tkachuk, a forward for the Panthers, also believes that experience will be vital in this game. As per the NHL, "When you go through a bunch of playoff series like we have and I have, most of the time [the last game] is the toughest one. Edmonton’s one of, if not the best, team that I’ve played in my career in playoffs, so I’m sure it’s going to be a very tough one."
The Panthers have been able to start games well against the Oilers, but the Oilers have shown a remarkable ability to fight back. According to the NHL, coach Paul Maurice believes that the Panthers are better equipped to handle the pressure of a Game 6 than they were last season.
Maurice said, as reported by the NHL, "We were all pretty wired after Game 3 last year, and I think we can handle that a bit better now." Forward Evan Rodrigues added, "I think everything we’ve kind of gone through we just have more experience, so you get a little bit more comfortable in the situation."
The Panthers have learned from their experiences of closing out series in the past. As per the NHL, forward Sam Reinhart said, "Absolutely you’re always trying to learn what you can do better. It seemed like it was a two-week span trying to close out last year. It was a long two weeks. I think we learned a tremendous amount from it — just take it day-by-day and not focus too much on the future."
The Panthers have done everything they can to prepare for this game, and according to the NHL, coach Paul Maurice believes that it’s now just about playing the game. The Panthers are 0-2 with a chance to close out a series at home this postseason, but they have shown that they can bounce back from setbacks.
Maurice said, as reported by the NHL, "There’s 16 good teams, right? So, you’ve played well and put yourself in a position to eliminate the other team, but it’s not guaranteed because the other team is pretty darn good. So, there’s nothing learned where we say, ‘OK, now we’ve figured it out.’ Because if you figured it out, you’d win the next year, you’d win 16 straight. It doesn’t work like that."
