Stanley Cup: Panthers fans disheartened by poor play vs. Oilers as series turns to Game 7

SUNRISE — A 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup finals feels like a lifetime ago for Florida Panthers fans, many of whom left Friday's night's Amerant Bank Arena Game 6 watch party well before the final whistle sounded.

The Panthers lost 5-1, following two late empty-net goals by the Edmonton Oilers.

After an 8-1 demolition and a 5-3 rally fallen short in Games 4-5, Game 6's lackluster performance from the Panthers offense left many fans feeling disheartened and uncertain ahead of Game 7's home matchup to decide the series.

If Game 6 is anything to go by, home-ice advantage might not be enough.

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Fans in attendance for the penultimate match's watch party had very little to cheer for on Friday night, seeing a second-period goal by Florida -- an Aleksander Barkov shot -- negated by the barest of offsides calls via an Edmonton challenge.

"It blew my mind," Panthers fan Bill Showell said. "That was the closest ruling I've ever seen. You always say with instant replay, you have to have conclusive evidence. Looking at that from where we stood watching it, it looked like it was too close to call. Kudos to the Edmonton coach, but that was tough to take."

Though the Panthers' center would find the back of the net in the third period, it brought little comfort to Panthers fans in attendance.

"Sloppy power play, first of all," Showell said. "Their power play is awful. When they actually get on a power play, you're actually scared the other team is about to score. They can't get in the zone. They're having a hard time setting it up. And when they do get in there, they may get a shot or two, but after that, the power play is over."

Edmonton's Connor Brown scored a short-handed goal in Game 5. Teammate Mattias Janmark nearly scored another in the third period of Game 6.

"We're not getting on offense enough," said Ronel Lamour. "We've got to fix that as soon as possible. That's what's needed. Must, have to, need to. No excuses."

All said, it left Panthers fans wondering what happened to the team that blanked the Oilers 3-0 in the first game of the series and looked dominant in taking that 3-0 series lead.

"I don't know," said Panthers fan Fedor Khramtsov. "They've just got to lock in. They've got to focus. They can still come back, but I don't think they played like they played in Game 1."

'Desperate team is a dangerous team'

If the Panthers are to avoid being on the wrong side of history, they'll need a much better showing when they welcome Edmonton to their home ice in the Stanley Cup finale.

"A desperate team is a dangerous team," said Panthers fan Jarett Rutsky.

Rutsky said that following the first period of Game 6, referring to Edmonton's Stanley Cup Final comeback from being down 0-3.

Now, Panthers fans will hope their team takes that mantra to heart.

More: Florida Panthers on edge as Edmonton Oilers grab momentum in Stanley Cup Final | Habib

If they don't, head coach Paul Maurice's record streak of games without a title will remain -- but it's not just the coach who needs a win on Monday.

"Besides him, all of South Florida needs this," Rutsky said. "We've waited long and we've suffered a lot of years. It would be great to hoist the Cup."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Final collapse to Oilers has fans worried