The Panthers’ push on home ice with the Stanley Cup in the building came early and mostly in Game 5, continuing with an early power play before the five-minute mark when Brett Gulac was called for high-sticking. The Oilers had their dynamic short-handed duo of Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown at the top of the zone, and wall-to-wall pressure from Sweden forced the Panthers to foul on a d-to-d pass.
As the puck came across, Brown bent around the 30-year-old’s outstretched pad to send a piece of it out of the zone to start the winger’s winning leg race against Alexander Fargo. for Sergei Bobrovsky’s opening goal and Edmonton’s second SHG of the series at 14:30 of the frame.
It was the second straight game the Oilers opened the scoring with a short-handed marker, the first since the ’91 Pittsburgh Penguins to record SHG in a Cup Final. With his second postseason shorty and his first career postseason shorty, Brown now has three short-handed points in these playoffs (1G, 2A).
“I always knew how good he was, and I think everybody saw that,” said Hyman, a former teammate of Brown’s in the Maple Leafs organization.
“I think all Oils fans see that. He’s one of our best players. He’s been very impactful in all aspects of the game. He’s been unbelievable on the PK, unbelievable five-on-five, so I think you’re the one. I’ve seen the type of player he is for a long time. It is surprising that he was able to perform at such a high level.
