Panthers visit the Oilers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with the series tied
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scoring in overtime to tie the Stanley Cup Final for the Edmonton Oilers ensured the series against the Florida Panthers cannot be decided in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Hockey's hallowed trophy will not yet be in the building. But it is guaranteed to be on Tuesday night back in Sunrise, making Game 5 another pivotal swing point in the NHL's championship series rematch.
Advertisement
'The team that can move on fastest is going to be have the best chance,' Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'The team that moves on from this and team that recovers the fastest is going to have the bigger advantage.'
The coaches involved, Florida's Paul Maurice and Edmonton's Kris Knoblauch, don't believe much in game-to-game momentum, and that theory has played out so far. Draisaitl and Brad Marchand traded OT heroics in the first two, the Panthers won the next in a rout, and took a three-goal lead in Game 4 before the Oilers erased it and got another from Draisaitl to even things up.
The Oilers are favored to go up 3-2 and are slightly favored to win it all, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Panthers have won 10 of the 11 playoff series they have been in over the past three years, including a year ago beating Edmonton in seven games in the final.
This has been different but still feels like it could go the distance.
Advertisement
'It's two good teams, and they're equally matched and you're going to get some good hockey,' said 40-year-old Oilers winger Corey Perry, whose first intermission speech helped spark their Game 4 comeback. 'There are some superstars on both sides of the puck. It's fun to be a part of.'
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
27 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Hockey Canada sexual assault trial judge says onus of proof for the charges has not been met
Advertisement The players, who are now between the ages of 25 and 27, were in London at the time for a gala and golf tournament marking their championship victory. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Years of speculation regarding the allegations — fueled by a lawsuit settlement, parliamentary hearings and revived investigations by the police and Hockey Canada, along with an NHL investigation — all preceded a complex trial earlier this year that included a mistrial and the dismissal of the jury, leaving the verdict to Carroccia. The woman testified in May that she was naked, drunk and scared when four of the men showed up unexpectedly in her room at the Delta Hotel London Armouries and felt the only 'safe' option was to do what they wanted. Prosecutors argued the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure she was voluntarily consenting to sexual acts. Advertisement 'I made the choice to dance with them and drink at the bar, I did not make the choice to have them do what they did back at the hotel,' she testified. Defense attorneys cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a 'wild night.' Two short videos of the complainant taken by McLeod the night of the encounter were played in court. In one, the woman says it was 'all consensual,' though she told the court that wasn't how she truly felt. Protesters gathered outside a packed London courthouse on Thursday morning, holding signs that signaled support for the complainant. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault unless the accuser has granted permission to do so, which she has not. The public didn't learn of the allegations for years. Police closed their initial investigation without charges in early 2019, but the complainant sued Hockey Canada in 2022. The organization settled the lawsuit amid intense scrutiny that cost it sponsors, but police reopened their investigation. The players' identities were made public when they were charged in early 2024. At the time, four of them played in the NHL — Dube for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, and McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton had previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a Swiss team. All went on indefinite leave and none is on an NHL roster or has an active contract with a team in the league. Advertisement The NHL launched its own investigation in 2022. Officials pledged to release the findings, though Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February that would depend on what the league can say given legal proceedings
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Czech ice hockey great Josef Černý has died. He was 85.
PRAGUE (AP) — Josef Černý, one of the highest-scoring forwards in the former Czechoslovakia who helped his country win three Olympic medals, has died. He was 85. His former Czech club, Kometa Brno, announced his death on Thursday. Černý hit 75 goals in his 210 appearances for Czechoslovakia. With 478 goals in the domestic league and in international games, he was the sixth best scorer in the country, according to the Sport daily. He said he considered his 'biggest one' to be the second goal in a memorable 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union at the 1969 world championship in Stockholm. That was the first major tournament after the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in August of the previous year that crushed a period of liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. 'I scored more than 400 goals but the Russian one I value the most,' he once said. Černý played in the team that finished runner-up at the Olympic tournament in Grenoble in 1968, and claimed bronze in 1964 in Innsbruck and in 1972 in Sapporo. He also won four silver medals and four bronzes at world championships. He retired from international hockey briefly before the 1972 worlds in Prague that Czechoslovakia won. In his 21 seasons in the domestic league, he became the first player to score 400 goals. Černý rejected an option to emigrate in fear of the persecution of his family, he once said. After retirement, he turned to coaching at home and in Austria and Italy. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Czech ice hockey association offered condolences to his relatives, calling him 'a legendary forward.' ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Former Czech ice hockey great Josef Černý has died. He was 85.
PRAGUE (AP) — Josef Černý, one of the highest-scoring forwards in the former Czechoslovakia who helped his country win three Olympic medals, has died. He was 85. His former Czech club, Kometa Brno, announced his death on Thursday. Černý hit 75 goals in his 210 appearances for Czechoslovakia. With 478 goals in the domestic league and in international games, he was the sixth best scorer in the country, according to the Sport daily. He said he considered his 'biggest one' to be the second goal in a memorable 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union at the 1969 world championship in Stockholm. That was the first major tournament after the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in August of the previous year that crushed a period of liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. 'I scored more than 400 goals but the Russian one I value the most,' he once said. Černý played in the team that finished runner-up at the Olympic tournament in Grenoble in 1968, and claimed bronze in 1964 in Innsbruck and in 1972 in Sapporo. He also won four silver medals and four bronzes at world championships. He retired from international hockey briefly before the 1972 worlds in Prague that Czechoslovakia won. In his 21 seasons in the domestic league, he became the first player to score 400 goals. Černý rejected an option to emigrate in fear of the persecution of his family, he once said. After retirement, he turned to coaching at home and in Austria and Italy. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Czech ice hockey association offered condolences to his relatives, calling him 'a legendary forward.' ___ AP sports:
