How Panthers' Brad Marchand had Oilers star ‘feeling s****y'
The post How Panthers' Brad Marchand had Oilers star 'feeling s****y' appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night. Brad Marchand scored twice, both around Edmonton defenseman Jake Walman, to ice the game for Florida. The longtime Boston Bruins captain came over at the trade deadline and is in contention for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Walman spoke with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic about his performance on Saturday and how Marchand got the best of him.
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That's a good player,' Walman said of Marchand. 'S***y feeling as a defenseman. I want to have that one back. I've just got to play everybody hard. It doesn't matter who they are.'
The Oilers came back from 3-0 down in Game 4 to win in overtime, partly thanks to Jake Walman's third-period goal. But all of that momentum was zapped in the first period on Saturday, when the Panthers took a 2-0 lead. With Florida dominating the first period recently, Walman knows his team has to start games on time.
'It's frustrating when you come into the (dressing) room and you're down,' Walman said. 'We're struggling to get to our game right away. It takes us a little bit. I don't know what the reasoning is. We have it in us to play the way that we want.'
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The Oilers were down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final last year before ripping off three straight wins to force Game 7. While they lost the decider, they are familiar with playing with their season on the line. And that was without Walman, who came over at the NHL trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks this year. But those Panthers did not have Marchand, who joined them on the same day from the Boston Bruins.
Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Panthers and Oilers is on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Related: Oilers not committing to starting goalie for Game 6 vs. Panthers
Related: Panthers' Sam Bennett reveals key to Game 5 masterpiece vs. Oilers
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