Wayne Gretzky makes feelings known about Oilers' slow start in Game 5 loss to Panthers

By R. Nikhil Parshy

Modified Jun 15, 2025 13:29 GMT

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The Edmonton Oilers were yet again blown away by the Florida Panthers, this time at home inside Rogers Place in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday. A similar story has unfolded in all five Stanley Cup Final games so far, where Edmonton's first-period effort has plagued it.

On Saturday, Edmonton fell behind 2-0 in the first period through goals from Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett. But the lack of offensive effort by the Oilers was also telling. They were outshot 8-3 in the first period, with all three of their shots coming within the first 8:50 of the game.

They improved in the second period, but a strong defensive D-core setup from the Panthers was enough to hold them off, with Sergei Bobrovsky hardly needing to make a save. Edmonton had a total of 21 shots on goal and a further 17 shots being blocked at the net by the Panthers' defense.

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, on TNT's broadcast, spoke about the lack of offense in front of the goal by his former team. He said Florida outclassed Edmonton, who played with sustained control instead of going all out.

"Right from the get-go, Florida played a really smart, intelligent road game," Gretzky said. "We could see the first 10 minutes — they looked like the better team. Edmonton looked cautious. They were on their heels. They weren't making plays. They weren't getting pucks to the net — really no threat offensively in the first period.

"And when you win a game, when you come back from being down 3-0 on the road in game four, I thought the energy and enthusiasm would have been breathtaking for the Oilers with these fans and how great the fans are."

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It is telling that Edmonton's captain, Connor McDavid, who scored the team's first goal in the third period, had no shots in the first two periods. In total, all forwards combined had just 11 shots for the Canadian team as it lost 5-2 on the night to fall 3-2 behind in the series.

Oilers need to quickly regroup to force yet another Game 7

Last year, the Oilers were able to come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a decider, but they had Game 6 at home. This time, they would have to avoid elimination by winning in the Sunrise State. In history, teams taking a 3-2 lead have won the Stanley Cup 73.1% of the time.

However, Edmonton's players say they are ready to take the fight against the Panthers.

“I think we’ve come out flat now most of the series, so that’s something I think is a mindset,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I think we have to make sure we get pucks in and try to put pressure on them. They’re obviously a good team for a reason and they’ve come out and showed that early in the games and we have to find a way to be better than that at the start.”

If they are to get better, the Oilers' power play, regarded as one of the best in the sport, has to get better. They were blanked 0-for-3 on Saturday, marking the first time in 10 games they failed to score.

Game 6 is set to take place on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena.