Connor McDavid Doesn't Hesitate Pointing Oilers' Mistake in Stanley Cup Loss
Connor McDavid Doesn't Hesitate Pointing Oilers' Mistake in Stanley Cup Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Edmonton Oilers ran out of answers in the Stanley Cup Final, and team captain Connor McDavid had to watch another team celebrate for the second year in a row.
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Following a 5–1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 6, McDavid pointed to his team's inability to adapt offensively as a key reason for their second straight finals defeat to the same team.
The Panthers suffocated the Oilers on Tuesday, limited them to 29 shots over three periods, and only allowed one goal with the scoreboard already reading 5-0 in favor of Florida.
The back-to-back champions scored twice in the opening frame and never looked back, led by four goals from Sam Reinhart and one by Matthew Tkachuk, as well as an extraordinary 28-save game by Sergei Bobrovsky.
"Their forecheck was great, they tilted the rink," McDavid said. "They were able to stay on top of us all over the place, and we were never really able to generate any momentum up the ice.
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"We kept trying the same thing over and over again, banging our heads against the wall. Credit to them, they played well."
McDavid finished the series with just one goal and seven points and was held without a point in Game 6.
Oilers' center Connor McDavid (97) had a forgettable Game 6 in the Stanley Cup finals.Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Vasily Podkolzin scored Edmonton's lone goal with just over four minutes left in regulation, but McDavid pushed back against the possible perception that the Oilers stopped trying at any point through Game 6.
"We lost to a really good team," McDavid said. "Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, but they're a heck of a team. They're Stanley Cup champions back-to-back for a reason."
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The Oilers now face another offseason of questions, but oddsmakers and the very own McDavid still believe in a group that has made back-to-back trips to the finals.
"Still a lot of confidence and belief," McDavid said. "We obviously believed. Came up just short again."
Related: NHL Makes Historic Connor McDavid Announcement Amid Stanley Cup Final
Related: Panthers Not the Favorites in Initial 2026 Stanley Cup Odds
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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