Panthers GM launches water bottle in frustration as team fails to finish off Oilers in Stanley Cup Final

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Bill Zito appeared to embody every Florida Panthers fan on Tuesday night during their Game 5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, keeping the Stanley Cup Final series alive.

With the Panthers down 4-3 in the third period, Oilers star Connor McDavid scored an empty-net goal with 19 seconds remaining in the game. It put Edmonton up 5-3 and the victory brought the series to 4-3.

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General manager Bill Zito of the Panthers speaks to the media prior to the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida. (Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Zito, the Panthers’ general manager, was seen in the suite at the Amerant Bank Arena throwing a water bottle in frustration.

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"I'm not pumping tires. I'm not rubbing backs. I don't think we need that at all," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said after the game. "Everybody feels probably exactly the way I do right now. I'm not feeling deflated. Neither's the hockey team. They're not feeling deflated. Little grumpy."

Florida lost Game 4 in Edmonton over the weekend, 8-1. Coming back home felt like an opportunity to raise the cup in front of the home crowd.

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Panthers center Sam Reinhart sits on the bench with his teammates at the end of the third period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

But the good feelings began to slip away as Corey Perry put the Oilers up 4-1 at the 11:54 mark in the second period. Evan Rodrigues scored to cut the