(Edmonton) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 50 of the 51 shots he received in the first two games of the Stanley Cup final. The Edmonton Oilers’ dangerous power play was held in check on seven occasions. If these trends continue, this will be an extremely short final series that could end as early as Saturday night.
But as the scene shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 on Thursday, Oilers players don’t feel Bobrovsky is bothering them psychologically, or that they need to make adjustments on their special teams.
What they need is to put more pucks on net.
“No, there’s no frustration,” said winger Zach Hyman, who leads the playoffs with 14 goals but, like most of his teammates, has lacked luck in the first two games in Florida.
“We had a lot of opportunities. We hit posts. What can you do ? We will continue.
“ [L’avantage numérique] has proven himself over the course of the playoffs, over the course of the season, over all the years he’s been together. We are not frustrated. »
The Oilers hit the post twice on their final power play of Game 2, so they feel like they’re close, or just plain unlucky.
“When we just play and read situations, that’s when we’re at our best,” said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
But I think in the first game we worked really hard and won some battles. We must remain confident on the power play. Against Dallas, we didn’t score until the fifth game. We have to be ready to score at the right times.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Connor McDavid, who leads the playoff scoring leaderboard with 32 points, noted that Florida has an unusual combination.
PHOTO JASON FRANSON, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Connor McDavid
However, the Panthers are combative, but are nevertheless capable of limiting the opponents’ chances. McDavid believes the Oilers can’t expect to take advantage of many scoring opportunities, and must exploit the ones that come their way.
They play combatively and put a lot of pressure on you. For such a combative formation, they excel at limiting scoring chances.
Connor McDavid
“You must be ready. The key is to be ready when an opportunity presents itself and capitalize. »
Before the start of the final, Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner said Bobrovsky was the most athletic and flexible goaltender in the league. It is exceptional at covering the bottom half of the net.
Mattias Ekholm’s goal in Game 2 –– the Oilers’ only goal of the series – slipped through the Russian goaltender’s pads.
So far since the start of the playoffs, Bobrovsky has mostly been foiled over the shoulder, blocker side, or glove side. However, the Oilers’ shots often hit his pads.
The Oilers, who had just 19 shots in Game 2, believe it’s all about shot volume.
“Keep testing him, we just need to keep throwing pucks at him, getting second and third chances,” Nugent-Hopkins suggested.
“We have to put players in front of him. Obviously, you can’t expect to score if you don’t shoot the puck. We have to keep shooting and overcome him like this. »