Pressure mounts on Panthers ahead of Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

The Coaches Room is a regular activity throughout the 2023-24 season by former NHL coaches and assistants who take their critical look at the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher.

In this edition, Paul MacLean, former coach of the Ottawa Senators and assistant coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs, analyzes the Stanley Cup final between the Oilers of Edmonton and the Florida Panthers before Game 6 in Rogers. Place in Edmonton Friday (8 p.m.; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC). The Oilers fall behind 3-2 in the best-of-7 series and are trying to become the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the final.

I think the Edmonton Oilers have found their game.

Like I said earlier, if their power play can get going, it can make a difference for them. In Game 5, they scored two power play goals. The special teams, especially on the penalty kill, really helped them a lot.

Connor Brown, Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark have given the Oilers a line that is giving the Panthers a run for their money. I think the play of these three guys has been a big factor in these last two games.

Connor McDavid is doing what he does, which is great and breaking records, but those three guys came in and gave Edmonton a really good line. They gave the team an identity that can play against Florida and draw penalties.

I think a big part of the Oilers’ success is that line and how they started games and set the tempo.

Since the series got to 3-0, the pressure has been on the Panthers to win, and the hardest thing to do is win that fourth game.

It’s a heavy enough burden in itself, but suddenly mom and dad are here. Your wife and children are there. Your brothers are all here. They’re all sitting around, so excited that you have this opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. And then all of a sudden you don’t win and the pressure just keeps building and building.

The good thing for the Panthers is that they have four chances to play for the Stanley Cup. The Oilers aren’t even playing for the Cup yet. They are only playing for one opportunity to win the Cup, and Florida has four opportunities to win the Cup. The Panthers haven’t done it in two years, but they still have two chances to do it.

It’s still the Panthers’ advantage. They only have to win one game, and the Oilers advance game by game.

The pressure can’t get to Edmonton until Game 7. This is the only time the Oilers can play for the trophy and have the same pressure as the Panthers. Now the whole family has to get on a plane and go back to Alberta, and their nervousness and anxiety can transfer to the players.

Their anxiety continues to grow, and it will take a Herculean effort from the Panthers heading to Edmonton to win Game 6.

I think it’s going to be a tough game if you’re in Florida, but that’s why this trophy is so special, because it’s so hard to win and the circumstances aren’t always in your favor.

You have to rise to the occasion that is presented to you and not think about what you are going to do later. It’s really important to stay in the present moment, to stay in today. But saying you’re going to do it and trying to be that person to do it is difficult, because the mind wanders and it’s human nature to think about other things.

Things have certainly gone Florida’s way in the first three games.

Through the first three games, Edmonton’s power play hasn’t gotten going and its special teams are important.

Edmonton doesn’t outcheck you to death like Florida does, and Edmonton doesn’t play physical like Florida does, but the Oilers can outplay you. If they can get this game going, they are tough to beat and they have proven that this season.

When they run that type of play and they have the speed that they play with – when they’re not playing in their zone, they’re getting out of their zone quickly, they’re drawing penalties because they’re playing in the neutral zone . with speed – they are hard to beat.

The Panthers took 12 minor penalties total in Games 4 and 5. That’s a recipe for disaster, and it’s the biggest problem they have. They can’t eliminate penalties, and if you can’t eliminate them, you can’t take them.

Edmonton’s speed out of their zone and speed through the neutral zone starts to put some pressure on Florida, and if you give the Oilers enough opportunities on the power play, they will find a way to score.

McDavid is playing very well. There was another guy named Wayne Gretzky, and he won a lot of Stanley Cup championships in Edmonton. But Gretzky also had a lot of help.

At the same time, McDavid couldn’t do what he’s doing now without the help of his teammates. They’re helping him, and it’s great to see.

Every time someone breaks records, I think it’s great for the fans and for the game that there’s another generation of players who can do that kind of thing.

McDavid is doing great things. The team is doing very well and the fans are alive. When Oilers fans fill the ice and the game takes place in Florida, it’s pretty impressive.

It’s going to be a wild night in Edmonton for Game 6.