Nobody expected Game 3 to play out the way it did between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers on Monday night. After each of the first two games of this year’s Stanley Cup Final went into extra time, the Panthers took complete charge of the third outing and walloped the Oilers by a 6-1 final.
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While the loss was an ugly one for the Oilers, the score of the game really makes no difference in the grand scheme of things. That said, by losing, they’ve put themselves into a situation where it feels like Game 4 on Thursday night is essentially a must-win. If they are to come out on top and even this thing back up, here’s what they need to go right.
Far More Disciplined Early
Though some will say the refereeing in Game 3 was far less than adequate, the Oilers still need to be far more disciplined on Thursday. They wound up taking four penalties in the first period on Monday evening, and ended up shorthanded 11 times. Given how bad their penalty kill has been through the entire playoffs, it wasn’t surprising to see the Panthers convert on three of those opportunities.
The Oilers have played some good hockey in this series at even strength, and will need to ensure that’s what happens in Game 4. That means they can’t give the refs any sort of reason to put them in the box, even if it is on calls that fans feel are ticky tacky. If they stay out of the box, they have a strong opportunity of winning this next game.
McDavid & Draisaitl Need to Be Better
While the entire Oilers team struggled in Game 3, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were noticeably quiet. These two drive the bus for this team, as they have for several years now, and their team desperately needs them to grab hold of the reins and take over like they are capable of in Game 4.
Both McDavid and Draisaitl were held off the scoresheet entirely on Monday, while the latter failed to log a single shot on net. It was an ugly performance in a big moment, though everyone in the hockey community knows these two generally don’t play like that two games in a row. Fans should expect them to be far better next time out.
Depth Scoring Needs to Return
The biggest storyline through the first three rounds for the Oilers was their depth scoring. They were getting contributions up and down the lineup, which was a nice change from what fans had become accustomed to with this team in past years.
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The Oilers’ need for depth scoring in this series is even higher given that they are without Zach Hyman, but so far, there hasn’t been a whole lot of it. Players like Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Vasily Podkolzin, and Viktor Arvidsson all need to find ways to be much better in order for this team to have success.
Goaltending Needs to Improve
On Tuesday morning, head coach Kris Knoblauch wouldn’t commit to starting Stuart Skinner in Game 4. The 26-year-old hasn’t been at his best through the first three outings of this series, allowing 13 goals on 97 shots for a .865 save percentage (SV%).
While Skinner hasn’t been the only issue in this series, he isn’t coming up with the big saves Sergei Bobrovsky has been making at the other end of the ice. Whether it’s him or Calvin Pickard in Game 4, the Oilers need better goaltending in order to square this series back up.
This Has the Makings of a Seven-Game Series
Though the mood amongst many changed given the throttling on display in Game 3, expecting another lopsided affair on Thursday night would be unwise. These two teams match up very evenly, meaning fans should be in store for another very close outing in Game 4. Based on what we had seen in the opening two games, nobody should be surprised whatsoever to see this thing go the distance as it did a year ago.
