The Florida Panthers return home for another chance to win the Stanley Cup licking their wounds from an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers that prevented the final from being a sweep
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — There was lots of chatter at the Florida Panthers' breakfast the morning after the Edmonton Oilers blew them out 8-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to send the series back across North America.
As lopsided as that loss was in their first chance to close out the series, the Panthers return home to South Florida up 3-1 in the final with another opportunity to win the first championship in franchise history in front of their home fans.
“It’s all about us (needing) to manage the losses,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously it only counts as one win. It doesn’t matter how much you lose, 2-1 or 8-1, so just obviously we need to bounce back. We need to recover now and think about the next one.”
The next one is Game 5 on Tuesday night in Sunrise, which is sure to be a packed house with a crowd anticipating some hockey history. So far 21 of the NHL's 32 teams have won the Cup, and Florida is looking to become the 22nd in its 30th season of existence.