Kristen Shilton
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers were one shot away from taking a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final against Florida.
Instead, it was one shot against them — in Friday’s Game 2 double-overtime thriller — that gave the Panthers a 5-4 win and evened the series as it shifts to the Sunshine State.
Taking the split at home was a tough pill to swallow for Edmonton. But the Oilers are determined not to dwell on what could have been.
“Right after the game, there’s frustration and the what-ifs start going through your head a little bit,” Leon Draisaitl said following the Oilers’ practice Sunday. “But the next day you move on. You have no choice. We’ve got to get ready for [Game 3] tomorrow, coming in here, looking to play our best game.”
The Cup Final has highlighted dominant stretches for both sides — making the margins for error wafer thin. Edmonton rallied to edge Florida 4-3 in Game 1 thanks to Draisaitl’s overtime marker, a dramatic start to the rematch of last year’s final that saw Florida down the Oilers in seven games. The uptick of intensity in Game 2 further cemented how tight the series projects to be from here.
Edmonton has learned from experience, carrying it over to help manage the inevitable emotions that come with vying for hockey’s holy grail.
“Especially at this point, the magnitude of the series, you just get more comfortable with [the emotions]” defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “There’s going to be highs and lows. There are two really good teams playing against each other. There’s close to zero chance there’s going to be a sweep. So, you’re going to face some challenges at some point. For us in Game 2, losing in double OT, you were coming off an emotional high [from Game 1], and then you hit an emotional low. But now we come back and just know the importance of this Game 3 and playing hard.”
Getting back on the road can help, too. Edmonton has dropped just one game in enemy territory over its past two playoff series. It’s a little different now being back in Florida — considering that’s where Edmonton lost Game 7 of the Cup Final last year — but the Oilers expect to feel at home in Sunrise.
“We’ve got a good mentality on the road — sticking together, that’s been a big one,” forward Connor Brown said. “Just the belief in our group and a belief in one another, it’s huge. It’s the name of the game here, when you get deep in the playoffs, is finding that balancing act of not getting too high or low. It was an emotional win in Game 1. Both teams have kind of felt that.”
Coach Kris Knoblauch got his team together for Sunday’s on-ice session knowing the Oilers’ biggest names — including Draisaitl and Connor McDavid — would lead by example in helping Edmonton turn the page to what’s ahead in their next crack at the Panthers.
“I’ve seen it firsthand, no matter where we are after a big win or loss, they really set the tone and a work mentality of ‘This is business,'” Knoblauch said of the team’s top skaters. “Today was a little practice day, almost a formality, but they’re getting out on the ice and there’s repetition and drills and they’re focused. Everyone knows what’s at stake right now, and it’s nothing to take lightly, [so] let’s make sure we get prepared for our next game.”
For Knoblauch, that included making a few lineup changes at practice. He mixed up the Oilers’ defense pairings, putting Nurse with Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak beside Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm with John Klingberg. Edmonton was also missing top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whom Knoblauch characterized as a “game-time decision” for Monday. Jeff Skinner skated in Nugent-Hopkins place with McDavid and Corey Perry.
“We’re always making adjustments and countering what the other team is doing, [and assessing] who’s playing well,” Knoblauch said. “Our lines and D-pairs might switch up a little bit, whether it’s in the first period or is later in the game, whatever it is. Our players are comfortable with any of the changes we do make just because of how much we’ve fluctuated our lines and pairings all season.”
Anything to gain an advantage. It has been a series quickly defined by high scores and little leeway. Edmonton isn’t expecting much to change in Game 3 — or beyond.
“You’re not going to face very many teams where you’re just running over them for 60 minutes,” Draisaitl said. “Both games have been very tight and gone the distance and extra [time], so you have two really good teams going at it. [We] have to stay detailed and know all those little bounces matter.”
