"This isn't even close": Ryan Whitney waves the white flag after Oilers trail 2-0 after 1st period in Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

ARJUN B
NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers - Source: Imagn
Ryan Whitney waves the white flag after Oilers trail 2-0 after 1st period in Game 6 - Source: Imagn

The Edmonton Oilers are facing elimination as they trail the Florida Panthers 2-0 after the first period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.

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Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Panthers.

NHL analyst Ryan Whitney has already thrown in the towel, as he tweeted:

"This isn't even close. Forget making plays offensively it’s almost impossible just to get it out of the zone. Florida has time and space all over the ice. Complete domination."
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The Panthers struck first with a goal from Sam Reinhart. He stole the puck from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard before beating Oilers' goalie Stuart Skinner on the glove side.

Florida doubled their lead at the end of the period after a turnover by Bouchard at the blueline. It led to an odd-man rush that Matthew Tkachuk finished off.

At 9:45, Evander Kane was whistled for slashing Sergei Bobrovsky. Then, Sam Bennett stepped in to defend his goalie. He ended up getting a roughing penalty for going after Kane.

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With the Panthers leading the series 3-2, the Oilers need a win to force Game 7.

Ryan Whitney on Oilers 5-1 loss against Panthers

In the second period, Carter Verhaeghe fired a shot that Stuart Skinner couldn’t handle cleanly, leaving a rebound in the crease. Aleksander Barkov jumped on it and slid the puck to Sam Reinhart, who redirected it off his skate to make it 3-0.

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Reinhart continued his standout night in the third. With 6:34 left, he took advantage of the empty net after the Oilers pulled Skinner, extending the lead to 4-0. Just over a minute later, he buried another one into the open cage, making it 5-0 Florida.

Edmonton finally got on the board with 4:42 remaining, thanks to a goal from Vasily Podkolzin. But by then, the damage was done. The Panthers cruised to a 5-1 win, locking up their second straight Stanley Cup title.

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Commenting on the Oilers' play, Ryan Whitney tweeted:

"Horrible. What are these turnovers. Just passes in the feet. Then getting beat one on one. Reinhart is incredible Bouchard turnover and what is Ekholm doing. I take back the good start comment."

Stuart Skinner had 20 saves in the loss, while Sergei Bobrovsky backstopped 28 saves to win.

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Edited by Ruth John S
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