Connor McDavid Exhilarates NHL Fans as Oilers Force Game 6 vs. Tkachuk, Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers' dream of a 3-0 comeback is still alive and well.

Edmonton defeated the Florida Panthers 5-3 in Tuesday's Game 5 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena and now trails just 3-2 in the series with the opportunity to force a decisive contest if it capitalizes on home ice in Game 6.

The Game 5 win can be defined by two words: Connor McDavid.

Edmonton's superstar was unstoppable in the latest victory with two goals and two assists. It looked like he was toying with Florida defenders for extended stretches of the contest, including when he completely took over the game in the critical second period.

Social media reacted accordingly:

McDavid was the star, but the Oilers also received goals from Connor Brown, Zach Hyman and Corey Perry. Goaltender Stuart Skinner allowed goals to Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson but still saved 30 of the 33 shots he faced.

It was more of the same for the Oilers, who had plenty of momentum despite the series deficit following a dominant 8-1 win in Saturday's Game 4. Florida pulled goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky during the previous loss after he and the entire team was overwhelmed by the Oilers' offensive attack, and the start of Game 5 did nothing to quell any lingering concerns.

Brown intercepted a pass and scored a short-handed goal on the breakaway he created to open the scoring in the first period.

That was just the start of the initial onslaught for the Oilers, as McDavid shifted into takeover mode in the second period with assists on goals from Hyman and Perry to go along with his own goal. He glided through defenders with ease in a display of individual superstar brilliance that few in NHL history could have pulled off.

Yet the home team cut into three-goal deficits on multiple occasions with goals from Tkachuk and Rodrigues to keep the crowd fully engaged and apply pressure on an Edmonton team fighting for the survival of its championship dreams.

Never was that pressure more apparent than when Ekman-Larsson buried a goal on a Tkachuk assist less than five minutes after the start of the third period.

To the Oilers' credit, they withstood the pressure thanks to strong defense and play from Skinner. Fittingly, it was McDavid who scored the open-netter in the final seconds to clinch the win and force the series back to Edmonton for Friday's Game 6.