THE OILERS LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY!
As a fan of great hockey, how can you not be entertained?? Granted, Fames 1-3 did not go Edmonton’s way, but it really feels as though the Edmonton Oilers have continued to push the pressure onto Florida, especially in Sergei Bobrovsky’s case. Although Edmonton had to weather a substantial Florida storm in the second and third, the drive of Connor McDavid willing to bring this team back with assistance from Connor #2 (Brown), Evan Bouchard, Stuart Skinner, and the rest of the team shows the leadership and heart this team continues to display.
Goal breakdown
| Period | Score | Strength | Time | Goal Scorer | Assist |
| 1 | 1-0 EDM | SH | 5:30 | Connor Brown | Unassisted |
| 2 | 2-0 EDM | EV | 1:58 | Zach Hyman | Evan Bouchard, Connor McDavid |
| 2 | 3-0 EDM | EV | 5:00 | Connor McDavid | Warren Foegele, Evan Bouchard |
| 2 | 3-1 EDM | EV | 6:53 | Matthew Tkachuk | Evan Rodrigues |
| 2 | 4-1 EDM | PP | 11:54 | Corey Perry | Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard |
| 2 | 4-2 EDM | EV | 12:08 | Evan Rodrigues | Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett |
| 3 | 4-3 EDM | EV | 4:04 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Matthew Tkachuk |
| 3 | 5-3 EDM | EN | 19:41 | Connor McDavid | Unassisted |
Player spotlight
All props to Evan Bouchard, not only for the three-assist game, but for breaking his Coach Paul Coffey’s record for assists in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a defenceman. The development and growth of Bouchard since the acquisition of Mattias Ekholm will go down as one of Ken Holland’s biggest wins.
However, not wanting to be outdone by Connor Brown’s channeling of Fernando Pisani with a beauty shorthand marker, McDavid has also decided that tonight is record breaking night, moving his way into fourth all time in NHL history for points in a postseason; currently sitting at 42 and only five behind Gretzky’s record of 47. If Edmonton continues to push Florida, and the series does go to seven games, is it plausible McDavid can break the record.
Factoring in on four points was not enough for McDavid as he unleashed another jaw dropping specimen of a goal on Corey Perry’s tap-in, stick handling in and out of Dmitri Kulikov and Nikolas Mikkola. Not only did that pad Edmonton’s cushion, but further cemented McDavid’s legacy as elevating his game when his team required him most. See the goal here!
The Underlying metric darlings
| Team | C% | PotG | XG% | PotG | HDC% | PotG |
| FLA-1st | 50% | 51.8% | 0% | |||
| EDM-1st | 50% | 48.2% | 77.8% | |||
| FLA-2nd | 80% | 81.2% | 100% | |||
| EDM-2nd | 20% | 18.8% | 100% | |||
| FLA-3rd | 88.2% | 93.4% | 22.2% | |||
| EDM-3rd | 11.76 | 6.63% | 0% | |||
| FLA-Game | 72.4% | Tarasenko (86%) | 78.3% | Tkachuk (90%) | 76.9% | Montour (100%) |
| EDM-Game | 27.6% | Ekholm (50%) | 21.7% | Bouchard (53%) | 23.1% | Bouchard (67%) |
The game was a tale of two halves, especially at 5v5. Illustrated above contains the underlying metrics used to justify how dominant Florida was in the second half of tonight’s game. For example, in the first period, Edmonton and Florida split the period even strength chances in terms of shots attempted, but Florida dominated the rest of the way, recording a total of 78% of shots attempted. Of note, Mattias Ekholm did prove to be one of the sole even strength stars, keeping chances at nine to nine at 5v5.
Florida’s dominance did not stop as just C%, but carrying over to XG% and HDC%, categories that correlate with each other. For example, the greater the number of high-danger chances, the more likely the quality of shot resulting in a goal, hence, how Florida was able to contain the advanced stats categories. Both Tkachuk and Montour were stars at even strength for the Panthers, both being present on ice for six high danger opportunities, with Florida recording an expected 1.87 goals when Matthew was on the ice.
On the flip side, Edmonton had one lone bright spot analytically, as Florida continued to throw everything but the kitchen sink on net. As mentioned previous, Bouchard had a stellar game, but this is more prudent when you realize him and Ekholm were the only two Edmonton players present on ice for at least two HDC for the Oilers. Additionally, this corresponded to Bouchard being the only Oilers to record above an XG of 0.5, finishing at 0.54.
The crease
Hats off to Stuart Skinner, outdueling Bobrovsky for a second game in a row. In total, Skinner managed to stop 30/33 shots, finishing with a SV% of .909. On the other, Bobrovsky saved 20/24, good enough for an .833 SV%.
Unlike past games, Bobrovsky uncharacteristally struggled with High-Danger shots, being beat three times in eight opportunities, and once from long distance. Additionally, Bobrovsky finished with a -2.26 XGA, indicating Edmonton should only have scored two goals rather than four.
Skinner on the other hand, allowed one goal from the High-Danger area and twice from the mid-zone area; however, these were clear shots in net, with two of the goals beating Skinner high glove. Skinner did better his opposing net minder by recording +0.15 XGA, implying he allowed roughly as many goals against as the quality of chances amounted to.
Looking ahead
WE HAVE A GAME 6 FRIDAY NIGHT! Whether you are a fan jumping on the bandwagon for the first time or a die-hard fan that has been through the highs and lows, Edmonton will look to continue to be the first team since 1942 to come back from down 3–0. When your team consists of superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, depth scoring and a stellar goalie patrolling the crease, why not believe in the impossible and hope for the best.
References: https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20232024&game=30415
