Game 3 was a rough one for the Edmonton Oilers, and while the result on the scoreboard was ugly, it was simply the lack of connectivity that killed this team. After the first goal by Brad Marchand, just moments into the game, this team could not find their feet. Passes were missed, connectivity wasn’t there, and a lack of discipline were what killed this team.
While we can point to the referees’ failures to call this game fairly, at the end of the day, this game was lost outside of the power plays. Simply put, this was not a great game by the Oilers as a team. You cannot allow that many odd-man rushes against, or for your captain and the greatest player in the world right now to get rocked on the ice like he was. That’s not how this team needs to play.
The good news is that this team is much better than last game showed, and now with two full days off, it’s a chance to reset and refresh going into game four. Here’s what they need to do to win.
Regain their swagger
It felt in Game 3 that the Oilers forgot who they were. They simply forgot that they have the two best players in the game right now on their team, not to mention having incredible high-end talent in Evander Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Corey Perry, and more. On the blueline, having Evan Bouchard, who has put up 22 points in 19 games this playoff is enormous, and something that the Panthers simply do not have.
Stuart Skinner has been fantastic over the course of this playoffs, and especially when he has been dialed in, he’s been completely lights out. This team in Game 3 didn’t feel connected across lines nor between forwards and defenders, and on top of that seemed to forget who they were on the ice. They played soft, and when they went down in the game, they lost their heads and then the game.
This isn’t a long-term concern, as this team has experienced lengthy losing streaks at the beginning of both last season and this season, yet managed to turn both around, ultimately appearing in the Stanley Cup Final in both seasons. They need to regain this swagger tonight.
Composure is key
The Panthers are a dirty team. That’s been their entire identity this season, and even going back to last season, and it’s something that they quite frankly have been open about. They play in the grey and know how to pull teams down into the muck with them.
This is not the Oilers’ identity. The Oilers are a tough-checking team, who have a ton of firepower but can punish you equally in the corners. This team works hard, plays well at both ends of the ice, and knows how to lock it down defensively when they have the lead.
This is a mature team, one that should be good enough to not get pulled into scrappiness by the Panthers like they did last game. The Oilers know that the refs are liable to call everything, and if last game was any indication, the calls are going to skew in favour of the Panthers. The team needs to be disciplined and composed as the Panthers are going to pull out every dirty trick in the book to throw them off their game.
The Oilers are the oldest team in the league, and have veterans like Corey Perry who know what it takes to win at this level. Composure is going to be key if they are to win tonight.
Lock down defensively
Stuart Skinner did not have his best night in Game 3, and while it’s hard to blame him for many of the goals, there were a couple he definitely would like to have back. The Oilers know that while Skinner is good, their strength is in their skater group, and that frankly on paper, their skaters are stronger than the Panthers’ skaters.
If the Oilers can get an early goal and take the lead, they are able to lock down defensively and keep the Panthers to the outside the rest of the way. Even if they fall behind early, their ability to limit the deficit to one and not allow chances against is going to be critical to their success. At some point, the bounces will go their way and the team will find the back of the net. Sergei Bobrovsky has been good but not outstanding this series, and if the Oilers can generate chances, something will go in for them.
Where the Oilers struggled was getting the puck out of their end and retaining it in the neutral zone. This gave the puck away to the Panthers entirely too often and just kept driving the play the wrong way all night long. Locking it down defensively is going to be key. Winning puck battles in their own zone, using their bodies and positioning to keep the puck to the outside, and regaining the puck with smart outlet passes is critical tonight.
Tonight is the most crucial game of the season
If the Oilers cannot win tonight, they go back to Edmonton down 3–1, and give the Panthers three chances to win it all. That’s a tough spot to be in, unless, of course, you’re playing the Toronto Maple Leafs. But a win tonight, and the Oilers go back to Edmonton with a split, just as they did when they left about a week ago.
A fast start, strong defensive play, and discipline are what this game is going to be about, and whoever the refs are tonight, if the Oilers can go back to playing their own game, they can win tonight and win the series.
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