The Edmonton Oilers forced a seventh and deciding game in the Stanley Cup Final by beating the Florida Panthers 5-1 Friday night at Rogers Place.
It’s just the tenth time in NHL history a team has extended a series to seven games after trailing 3-0.
Warren Foegele opened the scoring 7:27 into the first, converting a pass from Leon Draisaitl for his third of the post-season. The Oilers outshot the Panthers 11-2 in the first.
Just 46 seconds into the second, Adam Henrique took a feed from Mattias Janmark and beat Sergei Bobrovsky blocker side for his fourth.
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Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers only ten seconds later, but the goal was negated after the Oilers successfully challenged for offside.
It was a lengthy video review with the Panthers appearing to be just a whisker offside on the zone entry.
With less than two minutes to go in the second, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins blocked a shot, sending the puck floating into the neutral zone. Zach Hyman tracked it down and went to the backhand to beat Bobrovsky on a breakaway, giving the Oilers a 3-0 lead.
Barkov would get one that counted 1:28 into the third, walking in from the right side, maneuvering around Stuart Skinner, and tucking the puck into the open side. Skinner made a huge right pad save on Sam Reinhart with just under five minutes remaining.
Bobrovsky was pulled for an extra attacker with 3:30 left. Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse promptly scored empty net goals 12 seconds apart.
The Oilers are trying to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup Final after trailing the series 3-0. In NHL history, there have been only four successful rallies from 3-0 deficits.
The Panthers will host game seven on Monday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 4 p.m., game at 6 p.m).
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