The Panthers’ push on home ice with the Stanley Cup in the building came early and often in Game 5, continuing with an early power play before the five-minute mark after Brett Kulak was called for high-sticking. The Oilers had their dynamic short-handed duo of Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown manning the top of the zone, and the pressure coming up the wall from the Swede forced the Panthers into making a mistake on a D-to-D pass.
As the puck came across, Brown got a piece of it to send the puck out of the zone to begin a foot race against Aleksander Barkov that the winger won, leading to a breakaway that the 30-year-old slid around the outstretched right pad of Sergei Bobrovsky for the opening goal and Edmonton’s second SHG of the series at 14:30 of the frame.
It was the second straight game where the Oilers opened the scoring with a short-handed marker, making them the first team since the ’91 Pittsburgh Penguins to register a SHG in back-to-back games of a Cup Final. With his second of the postseason and his first-career post-season shortie, Brown now has three short-handed points in these playoffs (1G, 2A).
“I always knew how good he is, and I think everybody’s seeing it,” Hyman said, a former teammate of Brown’s in the Maple Leafs organization.
“I think all the Oilers fans are seeing it. He’s been one of our best players. Just so impactful in all aspects that he plays. He’s been unbelievable on the PK, unbelievable five-on-five, so I think you’re just starting to see a taste of what type of player he is and I’ve seen it for a long time. It’s amazing that he’s able to show it at the highest level.”
#GAME #RECAP #Oilers #Panthers #Game,
#GAME #RECAP #Oilers #Panthers #Game