If Amerant Bank Arena hosts a Stanley Cup clincher, it will be Game 7 at the earliest

The Cardiac Cats seem determined to give their fans the ultimate stress test.

A commanding 3-0 Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Final series lead over the Edmonton Oilers is suddenly now just 3-2 after a sloppy-but-spirited 5-3 loss Tuesday night.

And you can be sure that the partisans in Alberta’s Rogers Place will show up Friday with the same spirit as the wall-to-wall backers in red who packed Amerant Bank Arena.

Lord Stanley’s Cup can afford a free vacation thanks to all the frequent flier miles it will log this week. Tuesday’s loss ensured another 5,000 miles or so of travel for the 34.5-pound, silver-and-nickel alloy relic.

The trophy is guaranteed to return to South Florida this weekend. Will the Oilers also make the trip? If so, it means Sunrise will host the 18th Stanley Cup Final Game 7 in NHL history.

The Panthers had never gotten past a Game 5 in the league’s championship round before this series. Those fans who selfishly wanted a loss in Game 4 so they could celebrate the franchise’s first title at home are now reconsidering their hubris.

Because their Panthers are just two losses from one of the most brutal collapses in all of professional sports.

The only team to blow a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final? The Detroit Red Wings, who lost the last four games of the 1942 postseason to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

None of that was even a passing thought to the thousands of South Florida sports fans who surrendered a mortgage payment to get into the rink by the swamp Tuesday.

Game 5 had long been sold out, and when it became a win-and-party situation after Game 4’s loss, the price tag to get in spiked.

Even three hours before puck drop, a time when brokers tend to get antsy, the cheapest get-in was still north of $750. Some paid twice that for a single seat. There were even rumors of a few a bit less scrupulous who found ways to get in for free.

Once inside, nobody was asking to see anyone else’s receipt. They were all there hoping to celebrate what would be Miami’s eighth major pro sports championship. The Miami Heat has won the NBA title three times. The Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins have worn the crown twice.

But never the Panthers, who lost twice in the Stanley Cup Final in their first three decades of existence.

Everybody in the building but the Oilers and their few road warrior fans wanted it. The Panthers pulled out all the stops, even asking golf legend (and Palm Beach County resident) Jack Nicklaus to pound the drum pregame. Luminaries from the world of politics and sport were spotted up and down the bowl.

But mostly, it was rank-and-file fans such as Josh Long, a Broward resident who had a crazy celebration planned had the Panthers won: Party through the night and then make it to first pitch for Marlins-Cardinals midday Wednesday.

“I was coming to games when I was younger and back in the old Miami Arena, you could give away the tickets back then,” said Orly Garcia of Pembroke Pines, who had lower-level seats. “And to see this arena that I’m looking at now all the way up to the rafters, standing room only, has exceeded my expectations beyond my dreams. I can’t believe we may hoist the cup tonight.”

Those hopes faded fast after the Oilers scored four of the game’s first five goals, taking a commanding lead midway through the second period. But the Panthers cut the lead to 4-3 in the third, and had plenty of chances to tie.

Ultimately, the rally fell short, delaying yet again gratification that has been throttled for a generation.

“Dude, I’m gonna scream, I’m gonna party,” Garcia added. “I may even go down to Hialeah with the pots and pans. Definitely. Let’s go Cats!”

Channel that energy. Game 6 is just a few sleeps away.