Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch gets honest about Connor McDavid's first Stanley Cup Finals goal in Game 5 loss to Panthers

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers were stunned on home ice by the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

With all of the momentum from a 5-4 overtime win in Game 4 just two days earlier, the Oilers had a prime opportunity to take command of the Stanley Cup Finals and give themselves two chances to win the Cup.

Instead, Edmonton was completely shut down by Florida and its structure, falling 5-2 and now on the brink of elimination heading into Game 6. One of the few positives from the loss was superstar Connor McDavid tallying his first goal of the series on a beautiful move to beat Sergei Bobrovsky.

McDavid's coach, Kris Knoblauch, was asked about the goal and McDavid’s overall play on Sunday.

"You know, I think there's been a lot of good scoring chances for him, and nice to see that he got a very nice goal last night. But, yeah, I've got no issues with his game. Obviously, our team relies heavily on him and Leon and how they're playing, but I think it's tight checking for everyone," Knoblauch said (4:50).

"And it's not going to be a mid-season game against a non-playoff team, you know, when there's, you know, sometimes he's had 10 or 12 scoring chances. You know, those numbers are obviously reduced. Played against a good team like Florida, but I think Connor has been one of our best players every single night, and that's what we expect."

Despite the lack of goal scoring at times, McDavid has piled up 33 points (seven goals, 26 assists) in 21 games this postseason.

That goal put Connor McDavid in elite company

Connor McDavid’s goal in Game 5 was the 150th point of his playoff career, reaching the mark in just 95 appearances.

Only two all-time greats, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, hit the milestone in fewer games. Sportsnet shared a graphic of the impressive feat on X with the caption:

"Connor McDavid is the third-fastest player to reach 150 career playoff points."

However, McDavid’s main concern is the end result, which didn’t go the way he and his team had hoped.

He and the Oilers now have their season on the line in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Panthers on Tuesday night in Florida. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Amerant Bank Arena.