Brad Marchand made some more history in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday nigh,t helping bring the Florida Panthers within one win of back-to-back championships — and dazzling his teammates in the process.
Marchand scored twice to help the Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2, spoiling the night for a packed house of 18,347 at Rogers Arena that was ready to party. They were anticipating a second straight win after a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime victory in Sunrise, Florida, on Thursday that tied the series 2-2.
Instead, the 37-year-old forward opened the scoring at 9:12 of the first period, then gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead with his second of the night at 5:12 of the third, helping the Panthers take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Florida can become the ninth franchise in NHL history to win back-to-back championships by defeating the Oilers on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
Each of Marchand’s goals came on a tremendous individual effort that left his teammates shaking their heads.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” TNT showed Matthew Tkachuk yelling after the second goal, which saw Marchand break up a play at Florida’s blue line, take a breakout feed from Eetu Luostarinen, then jump past Oilers defenseman Jake Walman before deking goalie Calvin Pickard and sliding the puck into the net to put Florida ahead 3-0.
“Those big moments — when you need guys to step up, time and time again, he’s there to produce,” said forward Sam Reinhart, whose goal at 8:10 of the third period quieted the crowd after Edmonton’s Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds earlier.
Panthers ‘pretty amazed’ by Brad Marchand’s highlight-reel goals
The first goal was also one for the highlight reels. Panthers forward Anton Lundell lost a center-ice face-off, but Marchand was quicker to the puck and first on it. He made a move to his backhand, cutting inside Mattias Ekholm, then beat Pickard with a wrister from the left circle.
Which one was better?
“They were both unbelievable,” center Sam Bennett said “But that second one – I don’t know how he did that. I’ll have to watch that clip again and ask him to teach me something.”
“Those are the goals you look at on YouTube when you’re a kid,” Lundell said. “You try to go out and practice them yourself. We’re all pretty amazed by him.”
Marchand continues to pile up goals and lines in the record book.
His six goals in the Final are the most since Esa Tikkanen of the Oilers had six goals in 1988. Five of the goals have come on the road, something that hadn’t been done in the Cup Final since Jack Adams did it in 1922. It was his 16th career game-winning goal in the playoffs, tying Jaromir Jagr and Patrick Marleau for 10th in NHL history.
Marchand now has 13 career Stanley Cup Final goals, the most among active players. He’s just the second player in the past 59 years to score at least five goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals (2025, 2011). Mario Lemieux had five in 1991 and 1992 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bennett scored his fifth of the Final and playoff-leading 15th later in the first period; he and Marchand are the first teammates to score at least five goals in the Final since Frank Mahovlich and Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1973.
Related: NHL Games Today: 2025 Stanley Cup Final Schedule, Dates, Times, and Results
For his part, Marchand said the Panthers learned a lot after wasting a three-goal lead in what turned into the overtime loss in Game 4.
“We’ve been pretty good at bouncing back all playoffs,” he said. “We learned a pretty good lesson in the last game. I thought we did a much better job in this one.”
Marchand’s play continues to make Panthers general manager Bill Zito’s move to acquire him from the Boston Bruins look like the best deal made prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7. Marchand is also happy in his new home, especially with the Stanley Cup one win away.
“Just excited to be part of this group,” he said. “I’m trying to enjoy the moment, and I’m having a lot of fun — just enjoying it.”
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