"Totally embarrassing another Panthers Stanley Cup choke": Cats fans in limbo as Florida Panthers lose Stanley Cup Final Game 5 after 3-0 series lead

Florida Panthers fans were left deflated and frustrated after the team lost Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final 5-3 to the Edmonton Oilers. Despite jumping out to a commanding 3-0 series lead, the Panthers have now dropped two straight games and face a pivotal Game 6 in Edmonton.

Many fans took to social media to express their disappointment, with one tweeting,

"Totally embarrassing another Panthers Stanley Cup choke."

The loss brought back painful memories of last season when the Florida Panthers lost against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.

Another fan jokingly said,

"All good we didn’t wanna win at home anyway (let me cope)"

Some fans remained optimistic despite the Panthers' Game 5 loss:

"Need to come out stronger in the first next game. You guys played hard and the fans should not be disappointed. Good things happen to those who wait." one fan wrote on X.

"I’m not giving up on this team. Something needs to change - we need a full 60 of Panthers hockey, not a partial game. But you can do it if you play your game. You’re the better team. Go prove it." another fan said.

However, Game 5 left one fan was left wondering:

"What happened to throwing game 4 to winning the cup in Florida" a user wrote.

Meanwhile, one fan saw the funny side of another potential Florida Panthers collapse:

"All of us Panthers fans r gonna come together and bet on y'all lol. We can't win. Might as well get rich" another user wrote.

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice remains optimistic despite 5-3 loss in Game 5

Paul Maurice remained upbeat despite the Florida Panthers' 5-3 loss to the Oilers in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Final series. With the series now 3-2 in favor of Florida, Maurice stressed that his team was not feeling deflated heading into a pivotal Game 6.

"I'm not feeling deflated. Neither is the hockey team. They're not feeling deflated," Maurice said.

"Absolutely nothing has changed for our situation in the last two games except we've learned some things. Some lessons we don't need to learn. We've learned them enough. We keep getting taught those lessons. But nothing's changed for us. Not one thing."

Star forward Matthew Tkachuk echoed his coach's sentiment that the team was not feeling any extra pressure with the series shifting back to Edmonton.

"No, no, no," Tkachuk said when asked about pressure. "It's not an elimination game for us. We're going up there. We have a 3-2 series lead. We just have to take care of business like we did in Game 3."

Game 6 is on Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.