Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, former division rivals turned teammates, have now combined for 11 goals in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final after totaling three in Florida’s record-tying Game 5 victory in Edmonton – which gives them a chance to become the first team in 37 years to clinch back-to-back Cups on home ice.
* The Panthers will take their first crack at securing a repeat when they host the Oilers for Game 6 on Tuesday in Sunrise (8 p.m. ET on TNT, Max, truTV, Sportsnet, TVA Sports & CBC).
* Captain Connor McDavid and 40-year-old Corey Perry provided the goals for Edmonton, who will need to match a franchise record for road wins in one postseason in order to force a second straight Game 7 against Florida. The only teams in League history to go head-to-head in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive years were the Red Wings and Canadiens 70 years ago.
FLORIDA’S RECORD-SETTING ROAD WIN GIVES THEM A CHANCE TO CLINCH AT HOME
The Stanley Cup will be in the building Tuesday and it could once again be lifted by the hosts as the Panthers claimed an NHL record-tying 10th road victory to put themselves in a position to win their second straight championship in Sunrise. Florida can become the eighth team in NHL history – and first since Edmonton 37 years ago – to repeat as Cup champions by clinching both on home ice.
* Florida’s high-powered offense has gotten it to within a win of another Cup and on Saturday they built on their NHL record for road goals in one playoff year (61) and climbed into eighth place for the most total goals in one postseason (89, the most by any team in 31 years) – contributing to the highest scoring Stanley Cup Final in 15 years (39 goals in 5 GP).
FORMER FOES NOW DYNAMIC DUO AS MARCHAND, BENNETT AGAIN LIFT CATS
Five games into their first Stanley Cup Final together, after battling as division rivals for parts of five seasons, the Panthers duo of Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett combined for three goals in Game 5 – and now have 11 together this series – to achieve a rare feat and power the Florida offense once again. Both Marchand and Bennett have scored in four games this series (all but Game 4), with Marchand’s multi-goal effort giving him six total goals against Edmonton for a slight edge on Bennett (5) for the series lead.
* Marchand and Bennett became the first teammates in 52 years – and sixth in NHL history – to each tally five goals in the same Final. If Bennett adds another, they will become the first teammates ever to each have six goals in a Final.
* Marchand’s six goals against Edmonton are the most by any player in the Final since Esa Tikkanen in 1988 (6 w/ EDM, including one in the suspended game); the last before Tikkanen was Wayne Gretzky in 1985 (7 w/ EDM). The 37-year-old Marchand now has 13 career goals in the Final – one of 17 players in the 107-year history of the League who can make that claim (and one of seven who have accumulated as many in the League’s expansion era).
* Bennett scored his playoff-leading 15th goal, the fourth active player with as many goals in a single postseason following Zach Hyman (16 in 2024 w/ EDM), Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018 w/ WSH) and Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009 w/ PIT).
* Marchand, seeking his first Cup since winning as a rookie with the 2011 Bruins (5-2—7 in SCF; 7 GP), became the first player in NHL history to score five-plus goals in multiple Stanley Cup Final series with different teams. Overall, he was the seventh player in NHL history to achieve the feat with any club and second to do so in the expansion era (since 1967-68), alongside Mario Lemieux.
PANTHERS RESPOND WITH RECORD-TYING ROAD PERFORMANCE
After becoming the first home team in 106 years to surrender a three-goal lead in a Stanley Cup Final defeat, the Panthers responded with a record-tying road feat in Game 5 by claiming their 10th win as visitors this postseason. Florida can “bring it home” and become the third Cup-winning team in NHL history that started four series as visitors, following the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils.-15122454.png)
* Sam Bennett extended his NHL record for most road tallies in a single postseason (13) and became the fifth player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with a six-game road goal streak.
* Bennett and Brad Marchand have combined for nine of the 13 road goals Florida has tallied in this series. Marchand became the third NHL player to score multiple goals in consecutive road games during a championship series, after Joe Mullen (2 GP in 1989) and Don Grosso (2 GP in 1942). Of note, Cyclone Taylor (4 GP in 1918) and Frank Foyston (2 GP in 1920) also achieved the feat against NHL teams with the Pacific Coast Hockey League’s Vancouver Millionaires and Seattle Metropolitans, respectively.
* Marchand became the first NHL player in more than 100 years with five-plus road goals in a Final and just the third all-time, following Jack Darragh (5 in 1921) and Newsy Lalonde (6 in 1919). Taylor (9 in 1918), Foyston (6 in 1920), Jack Adams (6 in 1922) and Mickey MacKay (5 in 1918) also achieved the feat with PCHA clubs.
* Sergei Bobrovsky (19 saves) tied the NHL record for most road wins in a single postseason by a goaltender (10), last achieved by Jordan Binnington with the 2019 Blues. Of note, Andrei Vasilevskiy (2020 TBL) and Anton Khudobin (2020 DAL) had 10 wins as the road team in the neutral-site bubbles at Rogers Place and Scotiabank Arena.
QUICK CLICKS
* Brad Marchand comes up big again, Sam Bennett stays hot in Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final
* Caleb Desnoyers drawing comparisons to Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews ahead of NHL Draft
* Brady Martin preparing for 2025 NHL Draft, later career on family’s dairy farm
* Commissioner Gary Bettman joins NHL in ASL during first intermission in Game 5
