EDMONTON — Despite scoring only four goals in the first three games of the Stanley Cup final, the Edmonton Oilers escaped elimination with diverse contributions that they hope will carry over into Tuesday’s Game 5.
Mattias Janmark, Dylan Holloway, Adam Henrique, and defenseman Darnell Nurse were among the foot soldiers who contributed to Edmonton’s 8-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday, preventing a sweep and returning the series to Sunrise. Edmonton’s stars Connor McDavid, who had a goal and three assists, as well as Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, who had their first two-point games of the final series, fueled the Oilers, who are looking for their first road win in the series. On Saturday, 15 of Edmonton’s 18 skaters scored at least one point.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida’s starting goalie, was replaced by Anthony Stolarz after Edmonton scored five goals on 16 shots. “We’ve won a lot of games when our best players showed up, but we’ve also won games when our depth players stepped up and scored a key goal, or we relied on our goaltender,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Sunday morning before boarding a plane. Superior special teams — a short-handed goal, a power-play goal, and holding Florida scoreless on four power-play opportunities — as well as a 32-save performance from goalie Stuart Skinner were among the positive Game 4 characteristics Edmonton hopes to take with them to Florida.
“All we can control is how we play,” Knoblauch explained. “We have no control over the referee’s calls, the opposing goalie’s play, or anything the opposition does. “We will attempt to play the best hockey we can. “Hopefully, that will be enough to win us three more games.” After missing the third and fourth games of the series due to a hernia, forward Evander Kane traveled with the squad on Sunday, with the “possibility” of playing Tuesday, according to the head coach. Knoblauch anticipates a strong response Tuesday from a Florida Panthers club determined to finish the series at home and avoid returning to Edmonton for Game 6 on Friday.
The Panthers were defeated four games to one by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup final and hope to inflict the same anguish on Edmonton in 2024. “They’re going to be much prepared for Game 5 than they were in Game 4,” Knoblauch stated. “There are distractions such as winning the game, having a sweep, having family and friends come in to see what they’re hoping for, and celebrating. “Going back home, now that you’ve been beaten, they’ll retaliate and be better. “We have a pretty decent idea of what their team identity is and how they’ll play, but we can’t control it. We’re trying to appreciate this as much as possible.”
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