Top standouts from Game 5 of 2025 Stanley Cup Final as Panthers beat Oilers

The Florida Panthers have a chance to secure their second consecutive Stanley Cup after beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday night.

Florida now has a 3-2 series lead, and will look to close things out on home ice on Tuesday evening.

There’s just something about the Panthers and starting games off strong. At 9:12, Brad Marchand took the puck from Anton Lundell and scored on a great rush just seconds after a faceoff. Then, nine minutes later, Sam Bennett scored his 15th goal of the playoffs, capitalizing on a snap shot that beat Calvin Pickard down low to make it 2-0.

The second period was quiet, with neither team doing much offensively to spice things up. Marchand would score his second of the night at 45:12, beating Jake Walman with a quick deke before going down low on Pickard to make it 3-0. But the Oilers would finally find some life two minutes later, with Connor McDavid scoring his seventh of the playoffs just two minutes later to make it 3-1.

Unfortunately for the Oilers, they couldn’t use that momentum to their advantage. Instead, Sam Reinhart scored to make it 4-1 just 46 seconds left, quieting the Rogers Place crowd almost instantly. Corey Perry woke them back up with the net empty with about three minutes left, but it wasn’t enough to turn the game around, with Eetu Luostarinen scoring an empty-netter to finish the night.

Here’s a look at the top performers from Game 5 in Alberta:

Edmonton Oilers

#92 Vasili Podkolzin, RW: Podkolzin was one of the few Oilers who seemed to show up in the first period. He took a penalty, but he also had a blocked shot and a team-leading four hits. He was moving, playing aggressively, and looking to generate something for an Oilers team that just had very little going for them early on. He’s been a solid winger throughout the playoffs, giving the second line some extra oomph.

#97 Connor McDavid, C: McDavid scored the lone Oilers goal after some decent plays in the offensive zone. It was far from a dominant effort from the star forward, but you could tell he was doing everything in his power to try to get the team on the board. Can McDavid go Beast Mode on Tuesday to save Edmonton’s season? He might need to.

Florida Panthers

#9 Sam Bennett, C: Bennett was everywhere once again. He led all Panthers forwards in blocks and hits, and he even scored the 2-0 goal that seemingly sunk the Oilers. Bennett is always a menace, finding different ways to positively impact the team. Today, it was both offensively and physically as he continues to build his case for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

#27 Eetu Luostarinen, LW: Luostarinen was Florida’s best penalty killer, which included him blocking a shot with his face. He doesn’t seem fazed whenever the game gets extra physical, and he loves to be involved at both ends of the ice. Luostarinen has been lights out on Florida’s third line and today was no exception, finishing the game with an assist on Marchand’s second of the night before scoring an empty netter.

#63 Brad Marchand, RW: He continues to get it done. The former Boston Bruins star had two goals today, with both coming just seconds after a faceoff. His speed, energy, and shot make him such a dangerous player to contain, and his move around Jake Walman early in the third was one of the nicest goals of the Stanley Cup Final. The old dude still has it.

#13 Sam Reinhart, RW: Reinhart scored a huge goal for Florida less than a minute after McDavid got the Oilers into the game. He was buzzing all game, sitting near the top of the expected goals chart for Florida all game long. The skilled winger scored on his first shot of the game, but it came after some great sustained effort to win just about every battle he had both along the boards and on open ice. Reinhart also did a good job of gaining the zone, forcing the Oilers to play on their toes.

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