Edmonton has levelled the Stanley Cup final against Florida, with three wins in a row after last night's 5–1 thrashing.
The nerves will therefore be put to the test in a seventh and decisive final match – can Edmonton succeed in doing what no team has done in over 80 years?
Edmonton has done it again.
Mattias Ekholm found Mattias Janmark high up on the left flank. A perfect pass later, Adam Henrique shot 2–0, barely a minute into the second period.
Florida's Aleksander Barkov responded ten seconds later by shooting the puck into the goal. But Edmonton complained, and the crucial goal was disallowed.
Instead, Edmonton's Zach Hyman shot 3–0. Then the air went out of Florida.
Barkov managed to reduce the score early in the third period, but Edmonton's Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse finished with a goal each in an open net.
Wild turnaround
Florida started the final series, which is decided in the best of seven, with three straight wins and has in three matches only been one win away from its first Stanley Cup title.
But something happened in match four, when Edmonton gathered itself and thrashed Florida with an incredible 8–1. Since then, Florida has struggled to decide, without success.
It's a fantastic story, but we have to finish it, says Hyman after last night's win.
Everyone will forget it if we don't also finish it, he continues.
"Hurts"
The score in the final series is now 3–3, and the nerves will therefore be put to the test in a seventh and decisive final match on Tuesday night, Swedish time.
Edmonton then has the chance to become the second team in NHL history to turn around a final series after losing the first three matches. The last time it happened was in 1942, when Toronto beat Detroit.
Florida has, despite Edmonton's confidence, the advantage of home ice.
You've suffered a defeat, you feel it, it hurts, says Florida's coach Paul Maurice and continues:
But the person you are tonight has no significance for who you'll be in two days.
