The Edmonton Oilers find themselves in a pretty tough spot as they return home for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. Not only are they down 2-0 in the series, but their high-powered offense has completely abandoned them over the first two games of the series.
In Game 1, it was mostly the result of a stellar performance from Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. In Game 2, it was a dominant, shutdown defensive effort from the Panthers that did not allow the Oilers to generate any consistent offense and almost no high-danger scoring chances.
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Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have yet to break through, and now the Oilers have to become just the sixth team (in 55 attempts) to try and overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final.
It is not going to be easy.
But the series shifting back to Edmonton might give the Oilers a boost in some of their matchups thanks to the last-change benefit that home ice brings.
Over the first two games of the series in Florida, McDavid’s line has had to go up against Florida’s shutdown duo of the Aleksander Barkov line at forward and the Gustav Forsling defense pairing almost exclusively. He has had to play 23 five-on-five minutes against Forsling and 17 minutes against Barkov. (And the only reason the Barkov number is not higher is because he missed the second half of Game 2.)
So far, the edge in those minutes has gone to the Panthers.
Getting back to Edmonton, as well as Barkov’s potential absence if he is not cleared to play as a result of his Game 2 injury, might give the Oilers some opportunities to dictate more of the matchups and get their stars into better positions.
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Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers — Game 3
How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ABC, SN
Panthers lead series 2-0
Series odds: Panthers -550, Oilers +400
- According to Natural Stat Trick, the Oilers registered just one high-danger chance in all situations during their Game 2 loss and zero high-danger chances during five-on-five play. Both numbers were the lowest mark of any NHL team in a playoff game over the past three seasons. Prior to that game, no team this postseason had recorded less than four high-danger scoring chances (all situations) in a game.
- The only teams to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final are the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1966 Montreal Canadiens, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2011 Boston Bruins.
- There remains a big difference in the depth of both teams offensively. Florida has five different players with at least six goals and nine different players with at least 10 points in the playoffs. The Oilers have four players with at least six goals but only five players with at least 10 points. The Oilers have also played one additional game in the playoffs.
- The Panthers enter Game 3 on a five-game postseason winning streak and have also gone nine consecutive games without a loss in regulation. Their last regulation loss this postseason was Game 5 of their second-round series against the Boston Bruins. Their two losses in the Eastern Conference final series against the New York Rangers were in overtime.
- The Panthers have allowed more than two goals in just four of their 19 playoff games and only twice in their past 14 games. That accomplishment isn’t due to any single element, either; it’s a combination of strong goaltending from Bobrovsky and shutdown defense from their skaters.
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(Photo of Connor McDavid: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)