Stanley Cup Final | Oilers players maintain confidence despite no margin for error

(Sunrise) Kris Knoblauch boldly announced that his eyes were on the next 10 days.

The head coach of the Edmonton Oilers shared his feelings a few hours before his team played a losing game, facing a 0-3 deficit in the Stanley Cup final series against the Florida Panthers.

The Oilers crushed the Eastern Conference champions by a score of 8-1 and obtained a stay of execution.

Knoblauch – with confidence, once again – now looks ahead to the next eight days that he anticipates his team members will spend together. However, the margin for error remains zero.

The Oilers will have their backs against the wall again this Tuesday evening against the Panthers, who now lead the final series 3-1.

In the wake of the Oilers’ resounding triumph Saturday night at home, following which fans celebrated late into the night around Rogers Place, Kris Knoblauch’s squad is firmly determined to buy time and, like the Said captain Connor McDavid after Game 4, “hanging out [les Panthers] in Alberta.

Knoblauch’s words – he really had nothing to lose – could have covered a bulletin board in the opposite locker room. But the rookie coach had reason to publicly share his unwavering beliefs.

Aside from the strategy aspect, his work has never been about trust – or keeping it high. Instead, he tried not to let frustration set in among his ultra-talented lineup.

It was the mission at hand six weeks after the season opened, during the playoffs, and during this series, which the Oilers players believe they could easily lead 3-1.

“They were considered out,” Knoblauch told reporters Monday after his team’s practice session at Amerant Bank Arena.

“Others said, ‘They’re done, they’re not that good, they’re done.’ It doesn’t matter if it was November or during the playoffs.

“For them, it has no meaning. »

Explosion of goals

The Oilers offense came into its own in Game 4, producing a scoring outburst after being held in check by the Panthers.

McDavid led the charge with four points while Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally managed to get their names on the scoresheet.

They thus allowed the Oilers to take a first step which could allow them to become the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after falling behind 0-3. And only the second team to achieve such a feat in the final, approximately 82 years after the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942.

The Oilers found some trouble in Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 82 of 86 shots in the first three games before exiting Saturday’s game after allowing five goals on 16 shots.

“We’re not going to decide how he’s going to play [lors du cinquième match]we’re not going to decide how their team is going to play,” said defenseman Darnell Nurse, who ended Bobrovsky’s night by scoring his first goal since the start of the playoffs.

“We are also not going to choose the decisions that are made. We can only control what we can control. »

That calm approach is something Knoblauch brought when he was thrust into the spotlight of a hockey-crazed region of Canada with a struggling Stanley Cup contender seven months ago.

“He found a way to get through it,” said Nugent-Hopkins, whose team is aiming to force a Game 6 in Edmonton on Friday. “He believes in us, and we believe in each other. »

” All together “

The Oilers have demonstrated their ability to fight back throughout the season. Knoblauch was the one who found himself at the helm of this ship.

“It’s a very resilient group,” Draisaitl said. You don’t want to find yourself in that kind of situation too often, but we’ve always done a really good job of collectively pulling on the same rope. It’s not individuals, it’s all of us together. We like to play for each other. »

The big German added that Knoblauch’s confidence was justified.

“It would be a shame if he doesn’t have confidence in us now,” Draisaitl said with a smile. There has been a lot of adversity this year, and [on] always found a way to get out of it.

“There’s a lot of trust. »