The unthinkable is happening and the Edmonton Oilers have tied the Stanley Cup Final after losing the first three games, matching a feat last done during World War II.
The Oilers, once among many teams stymied by the Florida Panthers’ forechecking, have cracked the code and scored three goals off the rush for a 5-1 victory on Friday night in Edmonton. And they won without a point or shot on goal from red-hot Connor McDavid.
A key was Edmonton's successful challenge of a goal by Aleksander Barkov 10 seconds after Adam Henrique had made it 2-0 Oilers early in the second period. After a lengthy review, it was ruled that Sam Reinhart was offside before the goal.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said the play was clearly offside when he saw the video.
"The only hesitation was maybe it wasn’t the right video," he told reporters.
The disallowed goal was a huge momentum shift in the game.
Said Panthers coach Paul Maurice: “The linesperson informed me that it was the last clip that they got where they made the decision that shows it’s offside. I don’t have those."
The two teams now will take the 2,540-mile trip to Sunrise, Florida, for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
The Oilers will try to become the fifth NHL team to win a series it had trailed 3-0 and will try to match the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only one to do it in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers will try to match the 1945 Maple Leafs in winning Game 7 of the Final after blowing a 3-0 series lead.
Edmonton got goals from Warren Foegele, Henrique and Zach Hyman. Barkov scored in the third period for Florida, and the Oilers added two empty-net goals.
A closer look at Game 6:
Oilers video coaches: Head coach Kris Knoblauch and his video crew decided to challenge Aleksander Barkov's second-period goal for offsides. Sam Reinhart was barely offsides and Edmonton would have been penalized if the call had not gone its way. But it did and it was a huge momentum shift to have the Florida goal disallowed 10 seconds after Edmonton had gone up 2-0.
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: He said during his pregame availability that he wasn't happy with his play and he did something about it. Nice assist on the Warren Foegele goal, had three shots and drew a penalty.
Stuart Skinner, Oilers: He came up big again as the Panthers pressed down the stretch. Plus he was awarded an assist on Darnell Nurse's empty-net goal.
Another slow start for Panthers: They haven't started well in their three consecutive losses. It happened again in the first period when they had only two shots on goal.
Panthers' team defense: The Oilers are getting too many chances on the rush and now they're capitalizing on them. The Panthers are making too many mistakes.
Panthers' power play: The Panthers didn't give up a short-handed goal, which is good, but their futility continued, even with Oliver Ekman-Larsson moved to the top unit.
It has been done four times in NHL history:
In MLB, the 2004 Boston Red Sox did it against the New York Yankees. It never has been done in the NBA.
Stuart Skinner makes a big save and the Oilers get another empty-net goal. Darnell Nurse gets the goal and Skinner gets the assist.
He gets an empty-netter after Florida pulled Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra skater.
Kevin Stenlund called for interference on Leon Draisaitl. Panthers kill it off.
Edmonton's Derek Ryan is called for high-sticking Nick Cousins. The Oilers kill it off. Florida falls to 1-for-19 in the Final.
He takes a feed from Carter Verhaeghe, walks around Oilers defenders and beats Stuart Skinner. This goal will count. Verhaeghe ends a four-game point drought with his second point of the series.
Edmonton 20 minutes away from forcing Game 7.
Once again, the Oilers connect on odd-man rushes: Adam Henrique on a 2-on-1 break and Zach Hyman on a breakaway. The Oilers have a big momentum-changer when Aleksander Barkov's goal just 10 seconds after Henrique's score is overturned after a challenge for offsides. The margin was very thin, but the Oilers win the challenge. Stuart Skinner wasn't tested early, but he has looked good as the Panthers start to press.
Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling's shot is blocked and Zach Hyman picks up the loose puck and beats Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway. It's his 16th goal of the playoffs.
Panthers up to 11 shots, but Stuart Skinner makes a leg save on Aleksander Barkov.
Connor McDavid is in the penalty box after hauling down Aleksander Barkov. Florida's first power play was disjointed. They get another chance and look better, but Edmonton keeps Florida off the board.
A harmless one from Gustav Forsling. They're up to five, all from their defensemen.
Panthers have only two shots on goal in the first five minutes of the second period and four for the game.
Aleksander Barkov scores 10 seconds later but Kris Knoblauch challenges for offsides and wins the challenge. Sam Reinhart barely offside. Still 2-0 Edmonton.
The Oilers get an odd-man rush and the third line scores for the third game in a row. Edmonton doubles its lead 46 seconds into the period.
Panthers need to find a way to generate more chances.
Oilers were dominant in the first period and Florida had trouble generating anything. Their two shots were their fewest in a period all season. But Sergei Bobrovsky looks like he did earlier in the playoffs and has kept the score tight. Leon Draisaitl is looking better in this game and sets up Warren Foegele's goal.
Not long after the Panthers get their second shot of the game, Eetu Luostarinen is called for slashing. Edmonton has three power-play goals in the last two games. Oilers move the puck around quickly and Sergei Bobrovsky stops a Leon Draisaitl one-timer. Panthers kill it off.
They lead 10-1 with six minutes left in the first period. Sergei Bobrovsky makes a couple more good saves.
Mattias Janmark is called for slashing. The Panthers' power play has had a tough go this series. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is on the top unit now. Oilers kill it off. No Florida shots.
Moving Warren Foegele back to the Leon Draisaitl line pays off. Draisaitl makes a nice pass through Aleksander Barkov on the goal. Sergei Bobrovsky has no chance.
Shots are 5-1 Oilers about seven minutes into the game. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky looking good early. He stops Evan Bouchard, who skated in from the point.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is back with the Connor McDavid line. Warren Foegele goes to the Leon Draisaitl line.
Last game of the season in Edmonton, regardless of what happens.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch has put out this lineup first the last two games and it makes sense to start with it again. It has contributed three goals.
Matthew Tkachuk was the Panthers' best player in Game 5 and goes out first. This is a physical line that can set the tone.
F – Sam Bennett
F – Matthew Tkachuk
F – Evan Rodrigues
D – Aaron Ekblad
D – Gustav Forslund
G – Sergei Bobrovsky
F – Adam Henrique
F – Mattias Janmark
F – Connor Brown
D – Evan Bouchard
D – Mattias Ekholm
G – Stuart Skinner
Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) on Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
Game 6 will be shown nationally on ABC in the United States. It will be shown on Sportsnet and CBC in Canada.
Game 6 can be streamed on ESPN+ and Fubo.
Nick Cousins is slotting onto the Panthers' fourth line after seven games out. Kyle Okposo is coming out of the lineup. Cousins is an energy player who ranked sixth on the team in hits during the regular season. He has one assist in 11 playoff games.
According to ESPN, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is expected to move up the Panthers' No. 1 power unit in place of Brandon Montour. Montour's pass was intercepted in Game 5, leading to an Oilers short-handed goal.
Injured Oilers forward Evander Kane, who was considered a game-time decision, isn't playing.
Connor McDavid has 11 points in the final, leaving him two points behind Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 record. He already has passed Gretzky’s record for assists in a postseason with 34. McDavid’s 42 playoff points place him fourth all-time behind Gretzky (47, 1985), Mario Lemieux (41, 1991) and Gretzky (43, 1988).
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl is still looking for his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final.
'I’ve always been able to come back from stretches where I maybe haven’t been my best,” he told reporters on Friday. "It’s just myself being better. I hold myself to extremely high standards. If I don’t get to that, obviously I’m not happy."
Oilers: Continue to be aggressive on special teams. The Oilers have scored two short-handed goals and three power-play goals in the last two games.
Panthers: Play like they did after falling behind 4-1 in Game 5. But do it earlier. Score early and try to take the crowd out of the game.
Read more keys to victory for Game 6
Oilers' Stuart Skinner (13-8, 2.53 goals-against average, .898 save percentage) vs. Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky (15-7, 2.35, .906)
Game 6 odds, via BetMGM:
Moneyline: Oilers -120; Panthers +100
Spread: Oilers -1.5 (+215); Panthers +1.5 (+215)
Over/under: 5.5 (over -115; under -105)
They are 2-0, beating the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
They are 2-0, beating the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars. They beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs did it against the Detroit Red Wings and won Game 7. The 1945 Red Wings did it against the Maple Leafs and lost Game 7. The 2012 New Jersey Devils got to a Game 6 against the Kings but lost 6-1.
They are 3-4, losing their first opportunity against the Lightning and Bruins and their first two chances against the Oilers. They won their second chance against the Lightning and Bruins and beat the Rangers on their first opportunity.
They are 4-0, winning in Games 6 and 7 against the Canucks in the second round and in Games 4 and 5 against the Panthers.
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