A fair-weather fan in Edmonton shed the jersey of the losing team after a remarkable goal by Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
After the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal in overtime of Game 4 to even the series at 2-2, the series went back to Canada to see who would be one game away from glory.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, there was little to celebrate as the goaltending form that has dogged them throughout these Finals reared its ugly head once again.
The dagger came with the third goal, a beautiful effort from Marchand that stunned the Rogers Place crowd into silence.
Linemate Eetu Luostarinen poked the puck ahead to Marchand, who raced up ice, deked around Oilers defenseman Jake Walman, and then tucked the puck between goaltender Calvin Pickard’s legs to go up 3-0.
As cameras whipped around the lower bowl, one fan wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey was seen taking it off – only to reveal a Florida Panthers jersey underneath.
Brad Marchand’s second goal of the night put the dagger in the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5
The goal forced one fan to take off their Oilers jersey, revealing a Panthers jersey underneath
Marchand’s second led the Panthers to an eventual 5-2 victory up in Edmonton on Saturday
It was Marchand’s second goal of the night and his fifth of the series – making him the first player in history to score five goals in a Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams.
Marchand started the season as the captain of the Boston Bruins, only for Boston’s under-fire general manager Don Sweeney to move him to the hated Panthers at the deadline in exchange for a conditional second-round pick.
While the conditions were met to convert that second-round pick into a first-round pick, it came at the cost of watching Marchand score ten goals and ten assists for 20 points at the age of 36.
If Marchand scores again, he’ll tie his effort from 2011 – the last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. He’s also three points behind his playoff career high of 23 – set in 2019 when Boston lost the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games to the St. Louis Blues.
Calvin Pickard, Edmonton’s goaltender who took starting duties off the struggling Stuart Skinner, allowed four goals on 18 shots for a dismal .778 save percentage – leading to a 5-2 loss.
With the series shifting back to Sunrise, the Panthers are just one win away from becoming the first back-to-back champions since the cross-state-rival Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. They’d also be the third team to accomplish this feat since 2000.
Some consolation for Oilers fans: Edmonton is 6-1 these playoffs after a loss, including going 2-0 after a loss in these Finals. Game 6 takes place on Tuesday night.
