Are we on the verge of a Stanley Cup Final sweep?
If all goes right for the Florida Panthers on Saturday night in Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers, we could be. It would be the first time the Final ended in four games since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings dusted the Washington Capitals. Here’s a fun fact: Oilers general manager Ken Holland was the Red Wings GM that year, and it was the second of back-to-back sweeps in the Cup final for Detroit.
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If you can believe it, the Red Wings’ 1998 championship was also the fourth straight NHL season that ended through a sweep in the final round.
For the sake of the sport — if the Panthers win — let’s hope this doesn’t start another streak of Cup Final sweeps.
Through three games, the Panthers have stifled the Oilers’ best players and have gotten incredible goaltending to get themselves within one win of a Stanley Cup while holding a 3-0 series stranglehold. The Panthers had only won one game in their Stanley Cup Final history entering this series (they were swept in 1996 and were beaten in five games last year versus Vegas).
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Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers — Game 4
How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ABC, SN
Panthers lead series 3-0
Series odds: Panthers -3000, Oilers +1300
- Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard are all atop the NHL points leaderboard this postseason. Through three games, they’ve combined for four points. Neither of the three nor Zach Hyman, who leads all goalscorers with 14 this spring, have scored a goal in this series.
- Warren Foegele’s breakaway goal in Game 2 was significant for the Oilers: the first goal scored by an Oilers forward in the series. Ryan McLeod is now the second Oiler forward to score in this year’s Cup Final.
- Patrick Roy still has the highest save percentage ever recorded in one Stanley Cup Final at .974, following a scintillating performance for the Colorado Avalanche against Florida in 1996. How’s Sergei Bobrovsky’s save percentage through three Cup Final games? .953. It’s a rate that ties him with New York Islanders legend Billy Smith for seventh-best among goalies in NHL history.
- Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk has gone cold recently. He scored his first point of the series in Game 3. He’s gone scoreless in his last eight games and hasn’t scored since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. Contrast that to his fellow former Calgary Flame teammate Sam Bennett who is on a six-game points streak (four goals, seven points).
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(Photo of Connor McDavid and Sergei Bobrovsky: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
