If you are an Edmonton Oilers fan that happened to be watching the last game, your emotions likely resembled the steep drop of the now-defunct Mindbender at the West Edmonton Mall. From an absolute peak of excitement leading into Game 3, every subsequent goal against felt like a truly sinking feeling as the Oilers descended towards a 6–1 loss.
Although I do not enjoy wallowing in misery, I believe that it is important to learn from your mistakes which is why I decided to watch the high(low)lights of Game 3 before writing this. Contrary to what one might think will happen after doing that, I actually feel more optimistic heading into the Oilers’ Thursday matchup and I believe you should be to.
Let’s dive into the four reasons why you should believe in the Edmonton Oilers.
Oilers’ mistakes are largely self-induced
Make no mistake about it, Florida Panthers are a deep, experience-filled and incredibly talented team. Making it to the Stanley Cup Finals three years in a row is a heck of an achievement and deserves every bit of praise.
With that being said, let’s look at the goals that were scored against the Oilers last night. First goal featured a questionable decision by Stuart Skinner (who has been truly spectacular throughout the playoffs) to play out of his crease, allowing Marchand to shoot on a wide open net. Last time Skinner did something similar? Reilly Smith scored a game winning goal for the Vegas Golden Knights with 0.4 seconds left.
Panthers’ second goal, a sniper’s shot, just like two other goals, were a gift of Edmonton’s undisciplined play and came on a power play. Sam Reinhart’s goal came as a result of an inadvertent collision between John Klingberg and the referee. Finally, the red-hot Sam Bennett put one away on the breakaway that was allowed by Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm playing sloppily out of position.
Awareness and power play. Panthers are a team that knows how to capitalize on mistakes and Oilers’ gift of four penalties in first period alone is something that the Oilers can and must clean up. Panthers’ power play has been allowed too much practice time in the series and it is time for the Oilers to tighten up their discipline and positioning, something that is well within their ability to fix.
Oilers showed they can go toe-to-toe
If there is one positive that can be taken out of Oilers’ undisciplined unravelling in the third period is that they showed their physicality can go toe-to-toe with the Panthers. In what seemed like a less than competitive Eastern Conference Final, the Carolina Hurricanes were quick to resign in the face of Panthers’ punishing style. The same cannot be said about the Edmonton Oilers.
Whether it is Evander Kane, Trent Frederic, Darnell Nurse, or Jake Walman, the list of Oilers players willing to put the Panthers in their place seems to continue growing. With the game already decided, these and other Oilers players showed the Panthers that they are more than happy to push back and will stick up for one another. This is something Hurricanes were criticized for not doing.
As we head into Game 4, the Oilers will need to find the fine line on which a team can play both physical and disciplined hockey. Make no mistake about it: Oilers are a tough bunch that aren’t going to lick their wounds.
Panthers are human after all
While it may be difficult to believe this given their strong, tightly-gripped play throughout the playoffs, the Florida Panthers are a team that really is human. Looking at last year’s playoffs, Sergei Bobrovsky has put together a string of great starts before looking like a shell of himself in Games 4 to 6. Same can be said about their lineup in that time period as well which includes an 8–1 thrashing at the hands of the relentless Oilers. This short and sweet paragraph perfectly segways into my next point.
Oilers are the kings of comebacks
To show a great team that they are human, you must also be able a great team that knows how to win and it is hard to bet against the Oilers, regardless of the deficit they face. Whether it is down 0–3 to Colorado Avalanche in the regular season or 0–4 to Los Angeles Kings in Game 1, the Oilers prove time and time again that no lead is insurmountable.
This is something that the Oilers have also shown to the Panthers team last year, the main components and playing style of which have largely remained unchanged. With no hope in sight, except within Edmonton’s faithful fanbase, the Oilers came close to engineering the ultimate Finals comeback for the ages.
Last year, the Oilers were down three games to none before they figured out the Panthers and took it to their opponent, who seemed like deer in the headlights in Games 4 to 6. Fast forward a year later to the same timepoint in the series and the Oilers are down two games to one. Connor McDavid said post-game on Monday, “I don’t think our best has shown up all series long. But it’s coming.”
Have the Oilers figured out the way to beat the Panthers this time around? Time will tell what the Oilers will mount against their rat-infested foes but regardless of it all, I refuse to surrender my optimism in the guys in copper and blue.
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