The Edmonton Oilers are bringing the series back to Edmonton as they beat the Florida Panthers in Florida by a score of 5-3. The Oilers scored the first goal and never looked back. Were there a couple of moments where I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, yes, but at the end of the day the Oilers won the game and are halfway to overcoming the 3-0 deficiency they put themselves in.
The Oilers' special teams came through big in this game. Connor Brown scored the game's first goal while short-handed and then Zach Hyman and Corey Perry added powerplay goals on top of that. If there was ever a game for the special teams to win a game it was this one. The Brown goal early in the game silenced the crowd and took away any home crowd advantage the Panthers had.
After the the Oilers continued to pour it on eventually being up 3-0. Although the 3 goal lead didn't last long, it gave the Oilers a cushion they needed. The Panthers were able to pull themselves back into the game and made it a one-goal game late in the third period. The Oilers thought to their credit, they were able to weather the storm and add an empty netter to secure a game 6.
After being counted out early in this season and now again in this series this Oilers team has proven they have the willpower to overcome great odds in order to accomplish their goal. They went from the basement of the NHL standings to 2nd in the Pacific Division. They now have their sights on going from being down 3-0 to crawling their way back. They are halfway there after winning game 5 and now the best of seven series is at 3-2. If the Oilers are able to win on Friday night then it will be a coinflip for the Cup, but the Oilers will have all the momentum.