3 Keys: Panthers at Oilers, Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

(1A) Panthers at (2P) Oilers

Stanley Cup Final, Game 6

8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN+, ABC

Florida leads best-of-7 series 3-2

EDMONTON -- The Florida Panthers once again will try to win the first Stanley Cup in their history when they face the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on Friday.

Since a 4-3 victory in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead, the Panthers lost Games 4 and 5 by a combined score of 13-4, but they have not lost three straight games this postseason. As tight as the series has gotten, Florida players are trying to keep an even keel.

“If you were to tell anyone we’d be up 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final you’d be pretty ecstatic about it," Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. "I also think If you asked any player in any series if they’d want to sweep their way to a Stanley Cup, then they’d all say yeah, too.

“We have an opportunity to go into a hostile environment in Edmonton and win a hockey game. It’s a simple mindset. We’re going out as a group, we’re going to stick together, we’re going to do it for the guy next to us, go out there and win a game.”

The Oilers wanted to “drag [the Panthers] back to Alberta,” as forward Connor Brown said prior to Game 5, and if Edmonton is able to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win the Cup in seven games, they would be the first team to do so since the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. But they’re not getting ahead of themselves.

“I think we’re all human and of course you think about it," Oilers center Leon Draisaitl said. "But we’re still in no position to make that a priority, right? We’re one game at a time, so we have to win a game at home tonight and get this thing back to Florida and then it’s a one-game series.

“So of course you think about it but ... your focus is on this one game tonight and not what’s going to happen four or five days from now.”

Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

1. Settling in on defense

Asked where the Oilers have improved the most during the Final, defenseman Mattias Ekholm said it’s how they have played in their own zone. When Florida has pushed, Edmonton has stood its ground; the Oilers have allowed eight goals in the past four games and goalie Stuart Skinner has been there to stop some of the most dangerous scoring opportunities.

So if Edmonton gets caught playing a little more defense than it would like, that won't be an issue.

“We're more OK with having to play in our 'D' zone and spending time there," Ekholm said, "and not getting frustrated or getting out of the place just because we're there for 30 or 40 seconds.

“I think we can understand now that against these top teams you're going to play some defense. There are going to be chunks in games where you just have to play and not cheat the game and not trying to create something that's not there, because that's when they sting you.”

2. Build off starts

The Panthers liked the way they opened Game 5, with good scoring opportunities on Skinner in the opening minutes. But once the Oilers went up 1-0 on Brown’s short-handed goal, they couldn’t regain their momentum.

They need results to accompany their start in Game 6.

“We basically have to play together, trust we’re going to get the chances and get the goals from just playing together and playing our own game,” center Anton Lundell said.

“You always want to get the first goal but sometimes you don’t get it. We’ve been in that situation many times and we know how to come back from there, but you don’t want to get too much. It’s hard if it’s two or three goals [against]. So obviously we want to keep it tight and get the first goal if you can.”

3. Special teams battle

Whoever wins it in Game 6 will probably be in driver’s seat, right?

Edmonton has been outstanding on the penalty kill throughout the series and its power play has come alive again. The Oilers are 15-for-16 with two short-handed goals on the kill during the Final and have scored three power-play goals in the past two games. So don’t expect Edmonton to change anything.

As for the Panthers, they’ll put defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the point during the power play, swapping him for defenseman Brandon Montour.

“It might provide a different look, maybe a spark we’ve been needing,” forward Sam Reinhart said. “Certainly a very successful kill in the postseason for them. I think we’re trying to find a little more pace, a little more simplicity out there (on the power play). [Game 6 is] a great opportunity to turn it around.”

Panthers projected lineup

Evan Rodrigues -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Vladimir Tarasenko

Ryan Lomberg -- Kevin Stenlund -- Nick Cousins

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola -- Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Dmitry Kulikov

Sergei Bobrovsky

Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Kyle Okposo, Steven Lorentz, Tobias Bjornfot, Uvis Balinskis, Josh Mahura, Jonah Gadjovich

Injured: None

Oilers projected lineup

Warren Foegele -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Dylan Holloway

Mattias Janmark -- Adam Henrique -- Connor Brown

Ryan McLeod -- Derek Ryan -- Corey Perry

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Philip Broberg

Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci

Stuart Skinner

Calvin Pickard

Scratched: Vincent Desharnais, Sam Gagner, Sam Carrick

Injured: Evander Kane (sports hernia), Troy Stecher (ankle)

Status report

Cousins enters the lineup for the first time since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers; Okposo, a forward, comes out. ... Verhaeghe and Bennett did not did not take part in the Panthers morning skate Friday but each is expected to play. ... Kane did not participate in the Oilers morning skate Friday and the forward is expected to miss his fourth consecutive game.