The Edmonton Oilers have their backs against the wall again.
They’ll need to win Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla., to avoid watching the Florida Panthers celebrate a championship on their home ice for a second consecutive year.
Edmonton was in an even more perilous situation in the finals last season. The Oilers lost the first three games to the Panthers before rallying to win three in a row. Of course, Edmonton eventually lost 2-1 in Game 7 in Florida.
If the Oilers could force a Game 7 again this year, they’d have the benefit of playing the winner-take-all game in Edmonton.
“We’ve been through difficult situations before, and it’s just another one we’ll overcome,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said.
The Panthers certainly won’t take the Oilers lightly, not after they staved off elimination so well last season.
“Having a bit of an experience does matter,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We were all pretty wired after Game 3 last year, and I think we can handle that a bit better now.”
Florida second-line center Sam Bennett has certainly taken his game to another level. He has 15 goals in these playoffs, including five in the finals. His 13 goals away from Sunrise set an NHL record for most road goals in a single postseason.
“It’s just his game,” Florida forward Sam Reinhart said of his fellow Sam. “It translates so well this time of year.”
The top line of Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov have combined for 20 goals in the playoffs and four in the finals, but it’s the defense they’ve played against Edmonton star center Connor McDavid that’s been remarkable.
McDavid scored his first goal of the series in Game 5 after Edmonton had fallen behind 3-0.
“It’s a team effort defending guys like that,” Reinhart said. “We’ve known all series the challenge is there for us. No one really cares in our locker room about who’s producing. It’s just a matter of (making sure) someone is at the right times, and that’s what we’ve had.”
The Panthers have also been getting solid contributions more recently from the fourth line of Tomas Nosek, A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich.
Nosek and Gadjovich were healthy scratches for the Panthers’ first seven playoff games, and Greer only played three of the first seven postseason games while dealing with a lower-body injury.
“We try to focus on every shift,” Nosek said. “It doesn’t matter if we play five or 10 minutes, every time we step on the ice we try to do our best to help the team win a game.”
Following practice on Monday, Knoblauch was still undecided on the starting goalie for Game 6.
“We’ve got two goalies that have shown that they can play extremely well and win hockey games, and we feel that no matter who we choose they can win the game,” Knoblauch said.
Calvin Pickard made his first start of the finals in the 5-2 loss in Game 5. He surrendered four goals on 18 shots, dropping his record to 7-1 in these playoffs.
Overall, Pickard has a 2.85 GAA and an .886 save percentage in 10 postseason games (seven starts).
Stuart Skinner was removed in Game 3 after giving up five goals on 23 shots and in Game 4 after allowing three goals on 17 shots. Skinner is 7-6 with a 2.90 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 14 starts in the finals.
“That’s a conversation with the staff,” Knoblauch said of picking a starting goalie. “Obviously, our goaltending coach, Dustin Schwartz, but with all the assistants and general manager to kind of weigh in with how everyone feels and what’s best moving forward, and it’s not an easy decision.”
–Field Level Media
