(Sunrise) “It’s just a match…”
We might have expected a little more exuberance and enthusiasm from Matthew Tkachuk after this almost perfect first match for his club, but no. The Panthers striker looked quite detached, almost disillusioned with the result.
And yet, with this clear 3-0 victory here in Sunrise, the Panthers did two things. First, and this is not trivial, they took a 1-0 lead in this Stanley Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers. Then they won in a way that cast doubt in the opponent’s head.
PHOTO JIM RASSOL, USA TODAY SPORTS
Connor McDavid tries to outwit Sergei Bobrovsky.
On this subject, we can sum up this Saturday evening in Florida with one name: Bobby, Bobby, Bobby! That’s Sergei Bobrovsky, and it’s his nickname that the fans in red screamed with joy like that several times during this evening, as the Panthers goalie made the saves, on his knees, standing, and sometimes even on the back, to lead to a completely spectacular shutout on 32 saves.
“He has everything you want in a teammate,” added Tkachuk. Especially from a goalkeeper. »
Arriving at the arena a few hours earlier, his hair brushed from behind, Bobrovsky looked like a man on a mission, unable to even look at the Stanley Cup that had been placed on the ice before the players’ presentations. .
The little miracles then began, one by one, and in the stands, in addition to chanting his name, the fans started screaming that they wanted the Cup.
Everyone heard him clearly, including the guard.
“Every win is a big win,” Bobrovsky said in his labored English. But it’s also a long series, so we’re going to reprepare, we’re going to refocus, and we’re going to prepare for the next fight.
“They have a good team, they have a good offensive team, and I found that we protected the front of the net and the dangerous areas very well. It was a very good challenge, it was a good match, and there is still a lot of hockey to play. »
The Oilers must undoubtedly hope for the same thing, they who have seemed rusty at times.
The fans could have screamed the goalie’s name, but if the Oilers had been able to frame a few shots better, if they had been able to make their numerical advantage work, usually a lot more effective – 0 for 3 on Saturday night -, no doubt that the result could have been different.
No doubt also that the Oilers can look a little in the mirror of shame, Corey Perry first, he who completely deprived his club of a goal by making a save in place of Bobrovsky in the second period.
Connor McDavid didn’t seem too defeated in the locker room, despite this solid cut that adorned his chin.
“Maybe the hockey gods wanted to punish us for this game number six against Dallas,” he explained, “when we didn’t deserve to win. This time, maybe we deserved at least one goal, maybe two, and we couldn’t find a way. »
“I know this group is going to roll up their sleeves and be back. We always feel a certain pride when we are able to do that. So we will prepare for a big match on Monday. »
PHOTO SAM NAVARRO, USA TODAY SPORTS
Eetu Luostarinen (27) scored into an empty net at the end of the match.
While the Panthers fans went out into the Florida night screaming, again, that they wanted the Cup, the Oilers did not seem too downcast in their very small locker room.
“There’s a lot of good things to take away from this game, to be honest,” McDavid added. I feel like we had several good chances, and [Bobrovsky] didn’t do much. What they were given, however, were dangerous chances, and they took advantage of them, as good teams do. »
McDavid added that he and the Oilers knew what to expect from these Panthers, that they had already seen it all “on TV”, but Saturday night, on site, they were able to observe something else. They were able to observe an arena suddenly very noisy after years of silence, and they were able to see that these Panthers are not where they are by chance.
The Oilers captain still found a way to smile a little. After all, it’s just a match…