Can Matthew Tkachuk, the St. Louis native, lead the struggling Florida Panthers to a Cup win?

The Florida Panthers find themselves in a situation that calls for veteran leadership. The Panthers, who lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in last year's finals, may be victim to being overly confident. They were leading the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 before the Oilers won games four and five.

The series is now 3-2, with the Oilers having a home-ice advantage on Friday night.

The Panthers will do everything in their power to avoid a second consecutive finals loss and ensure they don't repeat the storied history of the Buffalo Bills, who went to four consecutive championships and lost all four.

Matthew Tkachuk to the rescue

While hockey analysts have criticized Tkachuk's play in the first four games of the series, his presence was notable in Game 2 when he defended Connor McDavid in the open ice.

More importantly, his leadership and voice in the locker room have been present in each game in the series. Even after last year's defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights, he has remained positive and driven, promising his teammates a return to the finals.

Tkachuk, who wears the "A" on his jersey, highlighting his alternate captain status, is a leader in the locker room and arguably the primary voice.

He says all the right things. And better yet, his play typically matches his words.

Despite losing to the Oilers at home in Game 5, Tkachuk appeared to excel against their formidable defense. It was a spark seen in the second period that gave the Panthers life.

Tkachuk finished the night with 1 goal, 1 assist, and 4 shots on goal.

But his fearlessness stood out even more, throwing his body on the ice to attempt to block an empty net goal.

The Panthers have reason to panic

Make no mistake: The Florida Panthers still have the advantage, leading the series 3-2. Yet head coach Paul Maurice has to be panicking, knowing his team is facing the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, in a hostile environment in Edmonton.

The Panthers are a great team, led by superstars themselves.

However, Sergei Bobrovsky's goaltending has been bad the past two games. His SV% in Game 5 was .826%, and in Game 4, it was .688%.

Does Maurice start Anthony Stolarz in Game 6? While tempting, he probably shouldn't.

Bobrovsky might lack confidence, but fans know he has the skills to help propel the Panthers to a win.

The Panthers stars need to shine more. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk must arrive in Edmonton on Friday night with a killer instinct.

Tkachuk seemed to have found that exact mentality in the second period of Game 5. If Maurice wants a Cup win, he must rely on Tkachuk and be vocal about his expectations to aggressively enter the Game 6 match with a win-or-else mentality.

Right now, Tkachuk should be carrying the team, and his teammates should be following his example.

Connor McDavid looks unstoppable, whether it's his scoring threat or setting up his teammates. The only way to beat him is to play aggressively, which will be needed from every skater on the ice.

The series, which was expected to be over just a few days ago, has now turned into one of the most exciting finals we've seen in a long time.