Through the first three rounds, the
There are just two teams left vying for the Stanley Cup. Check out our coverage, with TV times, the latest news, results and more.
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Öcal: The Oilers simply need Stuart Skinner to be elite the rest of the way. There’s no room for error anymore. There has been one reverse sweep in Cup Final history, and it happened in the 1940s.
If the Oilers want to have any ounce of hope of even winning a game, they need their goalie to win one for them. An .893 save percentage just won’t cut it against the Panthers’ offensive depth.
Shilton: Edmonton hasn’t just been trying to beat Florida. The Oilers are often attempting to overcome their own errors in the process. Giveaways are back-breakers at all times of the season, but especially now when the Panthers are so adept at capitalizing on those freebies.
The key for Edmonton is to make Florida work for its ice. That’s how the Panthers are making this series so difficult on the Oilers. Florida’s attack comes in waves, and Edmonton has to find its own way to keep the Panthers from continuously leeching their momentum.
Wyshynski: Stop giving them gifts like it’s their baby shower. Game 3 was trending in the Oilers’ direction before they coughed up the puck twice and allowed an odd-man rush to develop from deep in their attacking zone. They gave up three goals in 6:19 and that was the game — as Leon Draisaitl said afterwards, the Oilers were chasing it the rest of the game.
Stop helping the Panthers win the Cup. As if they need the help.
What lineup change should Kris Knoblauch make for Game 4?
Clark: Simple as it sounds: whatever line combinations that can lead to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scoring goals.
McDavid has two assists in this series, while Draisaitl had one in Game 3. Yet the fact neither of them has scored comes at a point where the Oilers are not only facing elimination, but they’re getting goals — albeit not many — from players in secondary and tertiary scoring roles. Finding a way to get McDavid and Draisaitl, among others, in situations in which they can convert scoring chances to goals could be an answer.
But that also goes back to another realization: Kris Knoblauch has already made a number of adjustments that still have the Oilers searching for answers as they try to avoid being swept.
Öcal: At this point, you try anything and everything because your back is against the wall. To Coach Knoblauch’s credit, he has been tinkering with the lines, whether it’s bringing Sam Carrick in for Corey Perry, moving Adam Henrique up to the second line or splitting up Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci.
Do Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele move up because they contributed in Game 3? McDavid and Draisaitl together hasn’t been effective against the Panthers, which is certainly a problem.
Shilton: Knoblauch has the best and worst problem: Two of the world’s best players are in his lineup, and two of the world’s best players can’t seem to score in this series. What’s the answer there? It’s the only question that matters.
Knoblauch might as well look at every option the Oilers have to give the top six an optimal chance of success in Game 4. Is that splitting up McDavid and Draisaitl? Keeping them on one line with a puck distributor who can tee them up? Does Knoblauch rotate forwards in that position?
Edmonton needs to see its stars be stars in Game 4 in order to feel like there is a still a chance to make a series out of this.
Wyshynski: The Oilers have the same problem the Panthers had when they lost in the Stanley Cup Final last season: They’re running out of healthy players.
I don’t even know whether Sam Gagner fits that description at this point. He hasn’t played since April 18. He played 9:26 in that game. Again, I have no idea whether Gagner can play. I am confident that if he did, the roof would come off the arena on his first shift. And that’s the kind of vibe shift this team needs. Look, could he be any more ineffective than some of the team’s other depth forwards?
The final score of Game 4 will be ______.
Clark: 4-2 Panthers. The Oilers showed a level of desperation late in Game 3 that leads one to wonder whether they can replicate that throughout the entirety of Game 4. But where it gets a bit complicated is the fact Paul Maurice and his coaching staff have made the needed adjustments throughout the series.
That’s not to say Edmonton can’t find a breakthrough and force a Game 5. But when the Panthers have found numerous ways to score goals, prevent goals and fend off a team the way they did in Game 3? It’s possible that it’s too much for the Oilers to overcome.
Öcal: 6-1 Panthers. The Oilers’ best chance was in the third period of Game 3, where they got two goals to bring it to within one with about five minutes to go, but couldn’t find the equalizer. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Edmonton win to force a Game 5, but this does feel like a sweep.
Shilton: 3-2 Oilers. The Oilers were one outstanding Sergei Bobrovsky save in Game 3 from forcing overtime. Edmonton’s performance in that entire third period was gutsy and tough, and if they can channel that energy for the entirety of Game 4, there’s a solid chance there’s a Game 5 back in Florida. And it would be a fitting swan song for Edmonton’s season to get that one Cup Final win at home for its fans.
Wyshynski: 4-2 Oilers. Because that would be the most hilarious outcome, as everyone sulks onto their flights to travel a Stanley Cup Final-record 2,541 miles back to Fort Lauderdale to simply delay the inevitable.
Famously, there have been 28 instances of a team taking a 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final, with those teams winning the Cup 27 times. Even if the Oilers manage to send the series back to South Florida with a Game 4 win, 25 of those 28 series have ended in five games. This series is over. It’s just a matter of when. And for those of us who remember the palpable sadness of media members having to schlep all the way back to Los Angeles in 2012 after the Kings took a 3-0 lead but the New Jersey Devils won Game 4, it’s time for a redux.
