Panthers visibly unsettled after throwing away a 3-0 lead against Oilers: “You can feel it. It hurts.”

EDMONTON — The Florida Panthers’ locker room door remained closed for more than 20 minutes after Friday’s game. When it opened after teammates exchanged words of encouragement for an inexplicable Game 7 that will now take place Monday, you could feel the bewilderment at how they got to this point.

The players seemed confused, lost, tense and completely without answers.

Eight nights ago, the Panthers led this series 3-0 and were just one win away from winning the Stanley Cup.

Eight nights and three losses later, the Panthers are one win away from winning the Stanley Cup and appear to be on the verge of one of the biggest defeats in NHL history at the hands of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Eight nights ago, the Panthers were still expecting a win in four games.

Eight nights later, they are now preparing for a crucial Game 7 in Sunrise, Florida.

It has been 79 years since an NHL team won three games in a row when it was on the brink of elimination in the Stanley Cup Final. The only team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 lead and win the Stanley Cup was the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We are talking about something that hasn’t been done since World War II.

“We believe. I think that’s the word I want to use,” said Zach Hyman of the Oilers. “Every game you win makes you stronger – and other people’s belief makes them believe too. A lot of people weren’t that interested in the final when it was 0-3, but now I’m sure a lot of people will tune in.”

“That’s why sport is so great, because the unthinkable can happen. We’re at a point where we thought it could happen when no one else believed it. Now we have a chance. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Somehow, in three days, the Panthers must overcome Friday’s 5-1 loss at wild Rogers Place and rediscover the lost pride, confidence and, above all, the game that brought them to these finals for the second year in a row.

Given their performance in their last three matches and the fact that many of their team’s players, especially their top-six strikers, have had their games completely fall apart, this seems like a mammoth task.

“If you walk in the room now, you’re not going to see a lot of happy people,” coach Paul Maurice said. “I’m not worried about what happens tonight. It doesn’t have to be right tonight. You’ve suffered a loss. You feel it. It hurts. You lick your wounds and we start rebuilding that tomorrow. But who you are tonight means nothing compared to who you’re going to be two days from now.”

At least that’s what he should hope, otherwise the Panthers will make history that he doesn’t want to be associated with.

In Game 6, McDavid — who will most likely be the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy regardless of Monday’s outcome — was just a rumor, with no points and no shots on goal. But his teammates got it done: guys like Warren Foegele and Adam Henrique and Hyman, who scored his 70th goal of the 2023-24 season, including the regular season and playoffs.

But Florida’s side seemed to have only two players in action: goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who controlled the game as the Panthers managed just two shots on goal in the first period and didn’t allow a single shot on goal by a forward in the first 31:55 minutes of the game; and captain Aleksander Barkov, whose goal was disallowed because Sam Reinhart was literally a hair’s breadth offside, and who later scored a spectacular goal that reduced the deficit from 0-3 to 1-3.

A dejected Panthers bench in the third period of a 5-1 loss. (Walter Tychnowicz / USA Today)

It is alarming that so many of the Panthers’ heavyweights have completely disappeared.

“Mr. Clutch” Carter Verhaeghe has a minus-11 record over his last four games and has one goal, one assist and 17 shots in his last eight games.

Matthew Tkachuk, minus-7 in his last four games, has one goal and six points in his last 11 games and two goals and 12 points in his last 17 games.

Reinhart, who scored 57 goals in the regular season, has one goal, two assists and 16 shots in his last eight games.

Not good, to say the least, and unless that changes, the Oilers will be parading around the Panthers’ home ice on Monday night.

“They were hungrier than us,” Verhaeghe said. “They wanted it and that was it. We didn’t really manage to do our forecheck at the beginning and they took it away from us. I think we need to improve and need better starts.”

The Panthers’ mantra throughout the playoffs has been “win the day,” but they’ve lost a lot of them recently. You have to wonder if their relentless style has gotten to them.

The Oilers were faster, stronger and kept the Panthers from getting into their game. Florida’s top duo, Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling, have struggled in the last two games. And on the power play, the Panthers continue to be stopped by the league’s best penalty killer, who is far too timid and doesn’t put the puck in the net.

“I think we’re lacking a little bit of offensive speed, and that goes for our five-on-five game as well,” Maurice said. “We’re being forced into the corners, so we’re going to look for places where we can build speed or maintain our speed.”

What is disappointing from Maurice’s point of view is how lost the team looked in the dressing room. The stress of the situation seems to be getting to them.

Verhaeghe kept calling it “tough.” He said the word about a dozen times to describe pretty much everything, especially how the Panthers are recovering from it.

They will have to do some serious soul-searching during their six-hour flight back to South Florida on Saturday and during practice on Sunday.

“It’s tough. It’s obviously hard to take,” said Verhaeghe. “It’s tough, of course, but we’re looking forward to coming home and playing a seventh game in front of our fans and it will be a good game.”

“I think we’re a confident group. They’re here for a reason, we’re here for a reason and, I mean, it’s the Stanley Cup Final. They’re a really good team and it’s up to us to come back and respond in the next game.”

It’s time for one of the Panthers’ heavyweights to step up, otherwise everything this franchise has accomplished this season will have been for nothing. Verhaeghe expects an enthusiastic crowd and “a fantastic game.”

“We still have one game left,” said defender Dmitry Kulikov. “We were ready from the beginning to play a seven-game series and that doesn’t change now. We took the lead three times and they played three good games. Now it’s up to us to win at home.”

(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)