The Edmonton Oilers are rolling after a slow start to the season, and next is a matchup with the visiting Florida Panthers in the first rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
“We haven’t seen them since, but we have new players, and they have new players,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “Their core is pretty much the same and so is ours, so I’m sure it’ll be a great game and a good measuring stick for our group with how well we’re playing right now. We’ll have to bring it again on Monday.”
Edmonton has won five straight and nine of its past 11 games, most recently dispatching the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Saturday. The Oilers built a 5-0 lead by the middle of the second period.
The Oilers are 12-3-1 since dropping consecutive games in early November, and their successful stretch has included triumphs over the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I like our game right now,” center Leon Draisaitl said. “I think we’re playing well. I think we’re starting to find our roles a little bit. We’re starting to find our rhythm a little bit better and have some really good teams coming up here. We’re just looking to continue that.”
That rhythm is coming through at both ends of the ice.
Offensively, they’ve scored 39 goals over their past nine games, including at least four goals seven times. At the other end, goalie Stuart Skinner has been delivering after a rough start. He has put up a save percentage of .925 or better in each of his past six starts while going 5-1-0.
“You need your goalie to make those saves, and I think our goaltenders have been really good the last few weeks and are winning us games,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Obviously, we’re very happy with Stu and we need goaltending like that if we’re going to have success long-term, and this is the goaltending that I saw pretty much all of last year.”
The Panthers, meanwhile, arrive in Edmonton looking to snap out of a two-game shutout funk. Florida lost 3-0 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday after falling 4-0 to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
“It’s not a bad thing to be frustrated between games,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t care about the offense. If they’re frustrated because they’re not scoring, that has nothing to do with us winning hockey games or being a good team.
“Everybody goes through stretches. I’m not sitting here saying we should win every game. Our rush defense (stinks). I’ve got to get that fixed. Other than that, I’m not worried about anything else we’ve got going.”
The back-to-back shutouts come after the Panthers scored just one goal in regulation in a 2-1 shootout win against the host Seattle Kraken on Dec. 10. They’ve had no fewer than 27 shots on goal in each of their past three games, but have struggled to find the back of the net.
“I feel like we’re not in the right spots,” forward Anton Lundell said. “We know how to change that. It’s going back to basics and trusting it’s going to work.”
–Field Level Media
