Hyman among top performers for Oilers in Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON -- Who played well in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in the series-extending 5-1 win by the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on Friday. Here are the players that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Zach Hyman (Edmonton Oilers): The forward scored on a brilliant individual effort to make it 3-0 at 18:20 of the second period. Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins blocked a shot by defenseman Gustav Forsling. Hyman outraced Forsling down the ice and then went to the backhand to beat goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. It was Hyman’s 16th goal of the postseason, which leads all players. Only Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche (18) and Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks (16) have scored as many goals in a postseason in the past 30 years.

Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers): The captain scored at 1:28 of the third to get the Panthers on the board. Barkov had three shots on goal, leading all Florida forwards in Game 6. He also had a second-period goal taken off the board when it was nullified by a review for offside. The center has five points (two goals, three assists) in the Cup Final.

Stuart Skinner (Edmonton Oilers): The goalie stopped 20 of 21 shots to win his third straight game. He allowed a third-period goal to Barkov, but then stood tall the rest of the way. He’s allowed five goals on 86 shots in the past three games, doing more than enough to put the Oilers in position to become the second team to reverse sweep in the Final. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1942 after going down 3-0 in the best-of-7 series.

Adam Henrique (Edmonton Oilers): Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, Henrique has become a perfect third-line center for the Oilers. In Game 6, the forward scored the game-winner, his second goal in three games. Henrique also had two hits and two blocked shots.

Warren Foegele (Edmonton Oilers): The depth forward got Edmonton on the board first, the third time the Oilers have scored the first goal in as many games. Foegele deposited a brilliant saucer pass from Leon Draisaitl at 7:27. It was Foegele’s second goal of the Final, and he now has a four-game point streak (two goals, two assists).

Stock Watch

Florida’s first period: ⬇️ The Panthers wanted to set the tone in Game 6 and take the crowd out of it. They didn’t do it. They played much of the period in their own end, made mistakes all over the ice, allowed a goal by Foegele and were outshot 11-2. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had both shots for Florida, each from more than 50 feet away.

The crowd: ⬆️ The line for the Moss Pit was hundreds long at 4 p.m. The arena was almost full before warmups despite the 6 p.m. local start on a weeknight. The roar was deafening during player introductions. The Canadian national anthem was spine-tingling. The chants to mock Bobrovsky started before the game and never relented. It was simply the loudest building in the playoffs this postseason.

Sergei Bobrovsky: ⬇️ The Florida goalie has lost his mojo. He wasn’t to blame on Friday, since each of the Edmonton goals were scored on an odd-man rush, but he hasn’t been able to come up with the big save. He has allowed three or more goals in each of the past three games and has allowed 12 goals on the past 58 shots he has faced.

Gustav Forsling: ⬇️ Florida’s top defensive defenseman had a rough night. He was on the ice for each of the first three goals Friday, and his ill-advised shot late in the second was blocked and led directly to the breakaway goal by Hyman. Forsling is minus-5 in the past three games.

Edmonton’s penalty kill: ⬆️ No, they did not score a short-handed goal, something they did to open each of the past two games. But they did not allow a power-play goal in Game 6, and they have killed 64 of 68 penalties this postseason.

What we learned

The Oilers have the momentum

Yes, each team has won three games, but the Oilers have done it in more impressive fashion. Essentially, they have risen from the dead and outscored the Panthers 20-5 since the third period of Game 4. For the past 200 minutes, Edmonton has been the better team in every facet of the game.

Panthers stars have to be better

Florida will not win its first Stanley Cup championship without getting more from its top players. Bobrovsky has to be better. Barkov has to lead. Forward Matthew Tkachuk is minus-5 in his past five games, as is Forsling. If the Panthers don’t get more from their core, Game 7 will be difficult to navigate.