Panthers vs. Oilers, Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final: Instant reaction

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on Friday. The best-of-7 series is tied 3-3.

Here are some immediate takeaways from the game by NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers:

Star of the game

We’re giving it to Stuart Skinner. The Oilers goaltender wasn’t tested a ton until the third period, but whenever the Panthers tried to get to him, he wasn’t having it. Outside of a goal by Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Skinner was tremendous. He also had an assist on defenseman Darnell Nurse’s empty-net goal late in the third (more on that later). In all, Skinner made 20 saves in his third straight win.

Goal of the game

That goes to Zach Hyman, whose goal at 18:20 of the second seemed to put a dagger into any hopes the Panthers had in coming back. After Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling’s shot was blocked by Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman took it the other way, and with a backhand shot, the forward beat goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on his stick side.

Save of the game

Skinner came up big on one end of the ice and set up a goal at the other in one fell swoop. The Oilers goaltender went down to make a save on Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk’s wrist shot, then pushed the puck to Nurse, who scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-1 at 16:57 of the third. Skinner raised his hand afterward to acknowledge the crowd.

What’s next

The Stanley Cup is up for grabs. Either the Panthers will win their first Stanley Cup championship or the Oilers will win their first since 1990 in Game 7 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).