Oilers on brink of historic comeback, forcing Stanley Cup Game 7 vs. Panthers with 5-1 Game 6 win

Source: The New York Times
Author: Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Michael Russo

EDMONTON -- Thousands of fans wearing orange and blue are partying at Rogers Place and on the streets of Alberta's capital city.

After being counted out by just about everybody outside of their own dressing room when they were down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers have done the improbable, winning 5-1 over the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Game 6 to force a Game 7 on Monday night in South Florida.

For a team that was tied for last place in the 32-team NHL on Nov. 9 and trailed in earlier playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars, it's almost fitting.

The Oilers are only the third team in NHL history to win three games when facing elimination in the Stanley Cup Final. The others were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1945 Detroit Red Wings. The 1942 Leafs are the only team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win the Stanley Cup.

So far.

It was a dominant performance from start to finish, with the Oilers giving up two shots on goal in the first and zero shots to a Panthers forward until more than halfway through the game.

Warren Foegele, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead. Hyman now leads all scores in this postseason with 16 goals. Add in his regular season, and Hyman now has 70 goals during this tremendous 2023-24 campaign.

Aleksander Barkov, who had a goal wiped off the board early in the first period when Sam Reinhart was ruled offside after a coach's challenge, scored a highlight-reel goal in the third period to pull the Panthers within 3-1. Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse scored empty-net goals to clinch the victory.

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 19 of 20 shots -- and picked up an assist on Nurse's goal -- while the Panthers' Sergei Bobrovksy stopped 16 of 19 shots.

Edmonton's 17 goals when facing elimination in this Stanley Cup Final put them two short of those 1942 Maple Leafs (19) for the most in NHL history.