EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Again the Edmonton Oilers came out flat against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, and the result has them on the brink of losing to them for a second year in a row.
The Oilers gave up the first two goals early, eventually fell behind by three and lost Game 5 on home ice Saturday night 5-2. They've been outscored 11-4 in the first period during the final.
“Well if I knew, I’d address it,” said defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who was burned on Brad Marchand's opening goal nine minutes in. “They’re a good team over there. We’re a good team. We just have to make sure we bear down early on in games. It hasn’t happened for us, and obviously we need to go down to Florida and win a game.”
Game 6 is Tuesday night in Sunrise.
The Oilers went into Game 5 favored to take the lead and win the series, but they instead got outskated and outplayed by the defending champs. Coach Kris Knoblauch didn't hate his team's start, just what followed.
“I thought we got off to a great start,” Knoblauch said. “We won a faceoff and it led to a goal against. It’s tough tonight. Like two of the goals against, we won the draws and they go down and score immediately. That’s tough. Rather than being on the attack, having the puck, getting in on the forecheck at least should happen, and what turns out is we’re picking the puck out of our net.”
Knoblauch would not commit to a starter in net for Game 6 after Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on 18 shots.
“From what I saw, I think Picks didn’t have much chance on all those goals,” Knoblauch said. "Breakaways, shots through screens, slot shots. There was nothing saying that it was a poor performance.”
It was not Edmonton's best, which seemed a bit surprising after rallying from a 3-0 deficit to win Game 4 in overtime. The response from Thursday night was not there this time around, possibly the result of expending so much energy coming back all series.
“Chasing the game over and over against a team like this, it’s very difficult,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers' longest-tenured player. “It was a tight-checking game all the way through. They took advantage of some opportunities, and at the end of the day we didn’t and it ends up being a difference.”
The power play of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Corey Perry and Evan Bouchard went 0 for 3. Even with the penalty kill keeping Florida off the board, not capitalizing on those chances proved costly.
“We had some looks, for sure, but maybe find a way to generate some second, third looks quickly,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We’ll stay confident, stay positive, take a look and see if we can correct anything.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after his goal with teammate Nate Schmidt (88) during the first period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard looks on during a stoppage in play during the first period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Jake Walman (96) and goalie Calvin Pickard (30) look to each other after being scored against by the Florida Panthers during the third period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, June 14, 2025. ( Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.
Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.
“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.
But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
