Reinhart among top performers for Panthers in Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Who played well in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in a 5-1 win by the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday to repeat as Cup champions. Here are the players that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers): What a time to get four goals, right? Reinhart scored on an early Oilers turnover, had an Aleksander Barkov shot hit him in the skate for his second goal, scored an empty-net goal at 13:26 of the third period and another empty-netter at 14:55. Reinhart had three goals in five games entering Game 6. Quite the performance.

Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers): The forward gave the Panthers something to cheer about late in the first period, when he was the ultimate beneficiary of an Oilers neutral-zone turnover. Tkachuk scored his eighth of the postseason with 47 seconds remaining in the first to give Florida a 2-0 lead.

Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers): The goalie was denied a shutout in the clinching game, but no matter. He was strong in saving 28 of 29 shots, with Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin getting one by him at 15:18 of the third period. Bobrovsky played his part in helping the Panthers win their second consecutive championship.

Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers): The captain had an assist on two of Reinhart’s goals. Barkov was equally good on the other side of the puck, helping to shut the Oilers down.

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): The captain was doing what he could to get the Oilers back into it. He skated in on a 2-on-1 at 2:56 of the second period and attempted to feed a driving Corey Perry at the right side of the net. However, Perry pushed the puck wide. McDavid finished with two shots on goal.

Stock watch

Charles in charge: ⬆️ Charles Barkley was in the building on Tuesday and was there between the benches while the Panthers and Oilers warmed up prior to Game 6. The former NBA great and "NBA on TNT" studio analyst gave his thoughts on the teams and had some fun chatting with Tkachuk before Brian Boucher took his place between the benches for the game.

Bang that drum again: ⬆️ Roberto Luongo, the former NHL goaltender and special adviser to Panthers general manager Bill Zito, banged the drum to get the crowd riled up before Game 6. Luongo, who played 1,044 games (1,014 starts) with the New York Islanders, Panthers and Vancouver Canucks, also banged the drum prior to Game 7 last year, which the Panthers won 2-1.

Panthers defense: ⬆️ It was Florida’s calling card throughout this series, and it was strong again in Game 6. The Panthers stifled the Oilers, keeping them from mounting a consistent attack. And whatever they didn’t get, Bobrovsky did.

Evan Bouchard: ⬇️ The Edmonton Oilers defenseman is one of the backbones of this group and was one of their leading postseason scorers with 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists). But he had a rough first period. He was unable to handle the pass from defenseman Mattias Ekholm that led to Reinhart’s goal, and his turnover at the end of the first led to Tkachuk’s goal.

Stuart Skinner: ⬇️ The Oilers goaltender was fine through the first even though he allowed the two goals that came off turnovers. However, his save on Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe’s shot late in the second period produced a big rebound in front, and the Panthers capitalized to extend the lead.

What we learned

Oilers can’t find answers

Edmonton talked of having a great start. The first few minutes of the first period it did, but when it made mistakes, Florida capitalized. The Oilers got down 2-0 in the first period, the sixth straight game they trailed, and couldn’t recover.

Panthers dominant

The Panthers kept saying they had learned from past opportunities to close out a series, and they proved that on Tuesday. From Bobrovsky to the defenders to the forwards, the Panthers were not to be denied.