McDavid, Oilers drag Panthers back to Alberta
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
SUNRISE, Fla. — Connor McDavid has dragged the Florida Panthers back to Alberta.
The Edmonton Oilers star continued one of the most dominant playoff performances in NHL history with two goals and two assists in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, cutting the Panthers’ series lead to 3-2 and forcing a Game 6 on Friday at Rogers Place.
McDavid now has 42 points in 23 playoff games, putting him five points away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s 1985 NHL record of 47 points in 18 games for points in a single postseason.
The Oilers have scored 80 goals as a team in the playoffs. McDavid is in position to become the second player in NHL history to have a point on over 50% of his team’s goals, after Gretzky in 1988.
“I love playing in the playoffs,” McDavid said. “It’s been a fun ride. We’re glad it’s going to go one more day, but that’s all we’ve earned. Another day, another flight, and we’ll be ready to go on Friday.”
The Oilers are just the fourth team in NHL history to trail 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final and rally to force a Game 6. The 2012 New Jersey Devils lost in six games, the 1945 Detroit Red Wings lost in seven games and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs won in seven games — the only team in NHL history to win the Cup after trailing 3-0.
“You can never count the Oil out,” said goalie Stuart Skinner, who had 29 saves in the win and improved to 9-0 in Games 4-7 in each of Edmonton’s playoff series.
It was the second straight four-point game for McDavid, who became the first player in NHL history to have eight points in a two-game span in the Stanley Cup Final, as well as the first player to post consecutive four-point games in a Final. McDavid joins Gretzky (1985) as the only players with multiple four-point games in a single Stanley Cup Final. McDavid now has four games this postseason of four or more points, the most by any player since Mark Messier had four in 1988.
McDavid already set the NHL record for assists in a single postseason, adding two more in Game 5 to bring his total to 34.
Most importantly for the Oilers, McDavid now has eight points when facing elimination in the Stanley Cup Final, the most in NHL history.
“He puts this team on his back,” forward Corey Perry, who scored his first goal of the playoffs on a brilliant McDavid assist in the second period, said of McDavid. “When we’re against the wall, he puts us on his back and he plays. You see why he is the best player in the world.”
The Oilers took a 1-0 lead in Game 5 on a shorthanded goal by Connor Brown during a sloppy power-play from the Panthers. Defenseman Brandon Montour‘s pass was intercepted by Brown, who raced the other way. With center Aleksander Barkov unable to catch him, Brown deked goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and netted his second goal of the playoffs.
Brown had gone 55 games to start the season without a goal. In Game 4, he set up Mattias Janmark‘s opening shorthanded goal, then opened the scoring himself in Game 5.
Edmonton made it 2-0 on an Evan Bouchard power-play blast that was tipped home by Zach Hyman for his 15th goal of the postseason. Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola was whistled for interference at the end of the first period. With a fresh sheet of ice, the Oilers’ power play converted at 5-on-4 for the first time in the series.
McDavid assisted on that goal and then made it 3-0 for Edmonton just 3:02 later. A strong forecheck by forward Warren Foegele set up McDavid with the puck. Bobrovsky played too deeply in his net, and McDavid snuck the puck past him for his seventh goal of the postseason.
“I don’t want to give away too much, as there’s still hockey to be played, but coming in on that side of the goal, I’ve gone short side lots,” McDavid said. “I would say most people know that I look there. He was standing. [Hyman] is always around the net, so I tried to put it there and it found a way in.”
The Panthers found some life at 6:53 of the second period as Matthew Tkachuk converted an Evan Rodrigues steal for his first of the series.
But the Edmonton power play, which was held scoreless in all three Panthers wins, struck again. With Kyle Okposo in the box for hooking, McDavid made a brilliant stickhandling play and found a streaking Perry for his first goal of the postseason at 11:54 to make it 4-1. But the Panthers responded 14 seconds later, as Rodrigues jammed a puck off of Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse and behind Skinner to make it 4-2.
Tkachuk helped draw the Panthers even closer by finding a streaking Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who sent a dart past Skinner and cut the lead to 4-3 at 4:04 of the third period.
But that’s as close as the Panthers would get, as McDavid scored his eighth of the postseason into an empty net to ice the game.
“I know a lot of guys counted us out,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’ve been counted out a lot through the playoffs, regular season, whatever. But it doesn’t faze the group in there. They’ve got a lot of belief — a lot of belief and just enjoying every extra day because we were counted out a long time ago. We’re still here playing hockey in June and have the opportunity where we are going back to Edmonton for Game 6. There’s a lot to smile about.”
Especially with McDavid on their side, sending what looked like a potential Panthers sweep into a sixth game — and moving another step closer to a historic Stanley Cup comeback.
“I’m really excited, really excited,” McDavid said. “But I’ve been excited about all these games. Right from Game 1 way back two months ago. The playoffs are the most fun time of the year. Special with this group. Special with our city, our fans. They make it so fun to go on these runs, and I’m really excited to see the energy that they bring on Friday night.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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