Oilers a step behind focused Panthers in Stanley Cup Game 5

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch says the team got a good start in Game 5 but didn't capitalize on their early chances.

They simply weren’t sharp.

Well, except for Connor McDavid, who led his team’s attack, scored its first goal and generated the most scoring chances for his squad.

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The Edmonton Oilers, while coming out of their dressing room with jump to begin the first and second periods, were off their game in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

A smidge, yes.

This is the National Hockey League, after all. The top level of the fastest game on ice.

But passes failed to find their mark for the Oilers. Pucks refused to settle down for them. Shots missed their mark.

• Marchand, Bennett push Panthers past Oilers to take 3-2 lead in Stanley Cup final

On the other side, the visiting Florida Panthers played their championship-calibre playbook to perfection.

Sticks in lanes. Forechecking par excellence. Skill demonstrated adeptly by the likes of Brad Marchand, who scored twice, and Sam Bennett, who scored his 15th goal of the playoffs and was as dangerous as if not more so than McDavid, the NHL’s top superstar, on this night.

And jumping on chances, which was all the difference in Game 5, Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game.

“It was a tight checking game all the way through,” Nugent-Hopkins told reporters in the dressing room after the game.

“They took advantage of some opportunities, and at the end of the day, we didn’t, and it ends up being the difference.”

A game of inches. Both head coaches described the small margins of error that make the difference in a game played at this level, certainly in the championship final series.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Saturday’s Game 5 was the type of game in which he’d like his side “to open up a little bit.”

But, again, the opponent is the champs known for its air-tight defensive play. And they were on that game all night.

“They’re not going to open up very much,” Knoblauch admitted after the game. “They’re a good, sound defensive team. They don’t make any mistakes. We just had to try and execute a few more plays to open things up.”

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice described his team’s success in Game 5 as “the smallest thing,” saying the Oilers were right there with them but that his players managed to stay on top of their assignments.

“it’s two feet of ice taken, a good stick, close support,” Maurice told media. “These are small margins, everything that happens on the ice. The danger of that team is always there. You’ve got to be a foot better, two feet better, a little better stick, all those small things ...

“I don’t think there was an egregious difference (Saturday night in Game 5.) The final score doesn’t tell the story. There are so many close plays are posted. It’s a lot tighter than final score wants you to believe.”

• Stanley Cup live updates: Panthers take Game 5

Nugent-Hopkins said the Oilers will “stay confident, stay positive and take a look to see we can correct anything.”

“We had some looks, for sure, but maybe (we need to) find a way to generate some second, third looks quickly and pull them out of their formation a little bit more,” he said.

Game 6 is scheduled for Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla.