Nice movement by the Panthers, but the Oilers were late to assignments and soft on the puck carrier. Here’s another clip.

I don’t even understand what the Edmonton forecheckers were trying to do here. It just seemed like the first instinct all night was to back out quickly and defend.

Here’s another one where assignments were missed all over the place. The Oilers almost get caught on an odd-man rush because of a poor set-up by the forwards.

Finally, this is one last clip from the second period, just to illustrate that this went on all night.

The Oilers’ forecheck last evening was as passive as I have seen in a long time. The problem with the situation is that this meant the Oilers were constantly defending rush attacks from Florida.

When a team cannot sustain a good offensive zone forecheck, it almost always leads to problems in its own zone. The Oilers found that out the hard way, giving up 4 goals at 5v5. This will have to change for Game 6, or this series is over.

The Oilers’ Defencemen

Game 5 marked one of the weakest defensive performances we’ve seen from the Oilers in this year’s playoffs.

A lack of effective forechecking undoubtedly contributed, forcing the Oilers’ defence into constant puck retrieval battles and rush defence throughout the night. However, an equally significant factor, and one largely overlooked, was the excessive ice time logged during Game 4.

Some commentators argued it was acceptable to limit Troy Stecher to barely four minutes in Game 4 because securing that victory was paramount. Yet, nobody addressed the potential consequences of that decision heading into Game 5, which was a game scheduled with no additional rest day.

Consider the scenario: the Oilers win in overtime Thursday night, fly home Friday, and immediately face another high-stakes contest on Saturday. The toll was evident. From very early on, fatigue directly impacted the defence’s ability to execute clean breakout plays and make sharp exits.

Watch these clips and see for yourself.

Troy Stecher, who has a wall option or even Trent Frederic available in the middle, chooses a flip pass right to the Florida forecheck.

Here’s one with Mattias Ekholm where he has Evander Kane wound up for a mid-lane pass. Instead, he keeps going up the wall and makes an awful play to turn the puck over. Florida scores.

Here’s another one with Evan Bouchard.

Bouchard was quite good in Game 5, I thought overall, but here was a shift where he had an easy out to start. He failed on that attempt, then had two more higher-degree-of-difficulty plays, and missed on those as well.

Here’s one involving Calvin Pickard and Darnell Nurse.

Pickard had a play to his weak side, but he’s not a great puck handler, so I’m not surprised he chose his forehand. As for Nurse, I don’t understand what’s happening. His stick needs to be on the ice, ready to receive a puck. It’s not even clear what he is doing here. He needed to be in position and ready for a short pass from Pickard.

There were 14 more exits like this that I logged in the first two periods.

In most of those instances, the forwards were doing a nice job supporting the puck low, and the defenders simply failed to make plays. For my money, I think this had to do with fatigue. So there is good news here on this front. The last two games of the series (if needed) are played over six days.

Those rest days will be critical for a defence group that looked very tired in Game 5.

The Opening Goal Against

This goal perfectly summed up the Oilers’ struggles in Game 5: Confusion, mismanagement, and costly mistakes.

I’m perplexed by Paul Coffey’s stubborn insistence on playing defensemen on their weak sides, especially when they’ve clearly struggled there. Yes, Ekholm might have briefly tried it in Nashville, but his attempts in Edmonton have been unsuccessful. Even young Philip Broberg had to adapt to playing on his off-side just to cover Ekholm. Worse still, Ekholm is barely back from an injury that was once considered season-ending, yet Coffey rolls him out alongside Jake Walman in critical Games 4 and 5, despite clear evidence the pairing isn’t working.

On Saturday’s first goal against, it’s the same troubling scenario, this time pairing Ekholm with Darnell Nurse. We all saw the consequences. Look closely at the defensive positioning. Compare Florida’s disciplined structure, tight to the circles, protecting the middle and ignoring the safer outside, to Edmonton’s loose and vulnerable setup. Ekholm is tight, but Nurse is positioned wide and deep, gambling on a faceoff win and trying to buy extra space from the forechecker. This gamble leaves the middle dangerously exposed.

Once the puck drops, Podkolzin misses his critical assignment on Marchand, failing to deny him entry. Meanwhile, Ekholm, playing on his uncomfortable weak side, naturally drifts outward because of his initial stride. Nurse compounds this by retreating straight back instead of immediately stepping toward the center.

The result? A gaping hole right down the middle of the ice, and an easy goal against. This isn’t just an isolated mistake; it’s a breakdown rooted in poor strategy, unsuitable pairings, and preventable positioning errors.

The goal was an alarm bell for me because it looked to me like two very fatigued defencemen not handling a one-vs-two against a smaller player. As it turns out, it was a precursor to the remainder of the night.

Paul Coffey needs to sit down and work through the data. The data can help him with who is good with whom and what situations favour what pairing. He’s being caught too often deploying unfavourable match-ups. It has cost the Oilers.

Notes heading into Game 6…

It’s time for the Oilers to simplify and strengthen the defence. Ekholm belongs with Bouchard. Move Kulak down to anchor the third pair alongside Stecher or Klingberg. Nurse and Walman must be paired together; that combination brings intensity and excitement, and more importantly, it gives the Oilers three reliable defensive units.

Paul Coffey needs to confidently roll these pairs consistently throughout the game. Even during penalties, he must have a clear, defined pairing ready to immediately restore order and rhythm. Right now, there’s far too much chaos on the backend. Also, Jake Walman has earned more ice time. Give it to him.

In goal, it’s time for Stuart Skinner to step up and show he’s the guy. We need a goalie who plays with a chip on his shoulder, and Skinner has to prove he’s ready. The Oilers desperately need this intensity and clarity. It’s time to deliver.

That’s it for the Game 5 recap. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. For all the dads out there, Happy Father’s Day! We’ll be back next week.