Game 6 in Edmonton is starting to feel like a must-win game for the Florida Panthers

Going up 3-0 in a best-of-seven series is supposed to make it feel like a series victory is inevitable. Only four teams have ever won four straight to overcome such a deficit, and only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have ever done it in the Stanley Cup Final. The Florida Panthers seemed to be in the driver's seat, with their first Stanley Cup victory approaching on the horizon.

However, after Edmonton won Game 5 5-3 in Sunrise on Tuesday night, the outlook for the Panthers is looking a little murkier. What looked like a near-certain victory for Florida has suddenly become shrouded in uncertainty. The series is moving back to Edmonton on Friday night, with the momentum squarely in Oil Country.

For six straight periods, the Florida Panthers were outplayed

While Florida won Game 3, the beginning of this run for Edmonton began during the third period of that game. The Panthers entered the final frame up 4-1, looking to seal another multi-goal victory over the Oilers. Instead, Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod scored to give Edmonton hope with 5:17 left. Florida held on to win the game, but it only got worse in Game 4. Edmonton ran laps around Florida to avoid the sweep, winning 8-1 to send the series back to Sunrise.

The Oilers played a fantastic road period to begin Game 5, opening the scoring for the second straight game with a short-handed marker. Florida pushed back well in the second period, but Edmonton outscored them 3-2 in the middle frame to make it 4-2 going into the third. For these six periods, the Oilers dominated the Panthers 14-3, seemingly turning the series back in their favor despite being in a significant hole.

Outside of the other-worldly performance of Connor McDavid, the two biggest aspects of this momentum shift are special teams and goaltending. Over the last two games, the Panthers have allowed three power-play goals and two short-handed goals while failing to score on their seven power-play attempts. While their power play has consistently been disappointing, their penalty kill was a perfect 10-for-10 in Games 1-3.

Sergei Bobrovsky's performances in Games 4 and 5 have also been placed under a microscope. After looking unbeatable for most of the first three games, Bobrovsky allowed five goals before being yanked in Game 4 and then allowed four more goals in Game 5. The real sign that things were dire was the sharp-angle goal he allowed to McDavid in the second period on Tuesday. It was a goal that we haven't seen Bobrovsky allow much recently.

There is a silver lining for the Panthers ahead of Game 6

Though the Panthers struggled to find an answer for the Oilers for those six periods, the third period on Tuesday night saw them finally start putting the pieces back together. They were the more aggressive team for the entire third period as they fought to come back. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored early to help them get within a goal, and while they weren't able to tie the game, it looked like the same team that had built up their series lead.

If the Panthers want to be the first visiting team to win the Stanley Cup in Edmonton, it's going to take bigger efforts from some of their stars. Only Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko have more than one goal in the series. Carter Verhaeghe has just one point. Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour need to be more noticeable. Most importantly, Sergei Bobrovsky needs to get back on the horse and play like he had before this past weekend. If not, we'll be back in Sunrise for a winner-take-all game on Monday night, with history guaranteed to be made.