Connor McDavid breaks down Edmonton Oilers-Dallas Stars rematch
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While the Oilers have firmly established themselves as the Los Angeles Kings' daddy, there is a very different vibe to this rematch. The Stars have been the Cup favourite in the minds of many since long before the playoffs began. They are deeper and stronger than they were last year and they will have revenge on their mind.
'Obviously a really deep team,' said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. 'We're in the conference final so everybody is going to be a good team, but they have scoring all over — eight 20-goal scorers. Incredibly deep Good D. Great goalie. They're a really good team.
'(Mikko) Rantanen helps and their power play really seems to be clicking. It's going to be tough but we're excited for the challenge.'
If you think the Oilers are hungry, consider that in the previous five seasons Dallas lost two conference finals and a Stanley Cup Final. If there is a team that wants it every bit as badly as the Oilers, a team with just any many playoff battle scars, it's Dallas.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Panthers take 2-1 lead into game 4 against the Oilers
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Oilers look to turn page after devastating Game 3 loss
The Oilers were keen to turn the page. Then they had to pivot. Edmonton was filtering out for practice Tuesday afternoon — less than 24 hours after getting thumped 6-1 by Florida in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final — when ice quality concerns forced the team onto a different pad at the Panthers' training facility. With that brief hiccup out of the way, a group looking to move past a night where they not only lost on the scoreboard to fall behind 2-1 in a rematch of last season's title series, but were also second-best on both the discipline and composure fronts, got down to business on what had initially been pencilled in as a day off. "It was not the game we wanted to bring," Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl said. "It was certainly far away from our best. Just flush it out a little bit and start getting ready." Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Co. will need a lot more for Thursday night back in Sunrise, Fla., following a 48-hour break in the action. "You can't dwell on things," Oilers winger Corey Perry said of moving past Monday's debacle. "The next one's the biggest one. That's how we think about it, get ready for the next one. Move on." Edmonton got into the gamesmanship weeds against a Florida group that does it better than anyone, with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand leading the way. The Oilers took four penalties in the opening 20 minutes — three in the offensive zone and another for too many men. Edmonton didn't like some of the officiating decisions, but the defending Cup champions, as they so often do, put the referees in a position to make a judgment call. The Panthers, it should be noted, also went to the box four times in the first period. Unlike the visitors, however, they capitalized on one of their chances in a start that lacked flow and rhythm. After a pair of lightning-quick games ended in overtime to open the series, Game 3 was more Florida's style. Draisaitl went back and forth with Bennett on one shift, while Evander Kane took two minors inside the game's first eight minutes. There were also numerous scrums after whistles — not something Edmonton is known for and a hallmark of Florida's approach. Things then got out of hand in the third period with the score 5-1 in a line brawl that included a long fight between Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse and Panthers winger Jonah Gadjovich. "It's an emotional time," Draisaitl said, pushing back against a question about Edmonton coming unglued. "It's two teams that want to win, two teams doing it their own way, but I don't think anybody is going crazy here. They're good at what they do." WATCH | Oilers fans react to Game 3 loss: Oilers fans react to 6-1 Game 3 loss 1 day ago Duration 1:53 Edmonton Oilers fans who watched Game 3 downtown say they're disappointed but still hopeful the team can turn things around. The Oilers have found themselves in worse spots. They were down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round earlier this spring after falling behind the Panthers 3-0 in last year's Cup final before rallying to force Game 7. "Our team is really good at reacting and answering performances like [Monday]," Draisaitl said. "We've always been a good team at coming back out with a strong effort." "We have a great chance in two days to show what our team is all about." Missing in action Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was a game-time decision Monday with an undisclosed injury, missed practice after also skipping Sunday's session. A key member of the power play, penalty kill and a winger on McDavid's line, the 32-year-old has five goals and 13 assists in 19 post-season games this spring for a team that's been without grinding, heart-and-soul winger Zach Hyman (dislocated wrist) since Game 4 of the Western Conference final. Crease question Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch declined to name his starting goaltender for Thursday. He pulled Stuart Skinner in the third period after Florida's fifth goal on 23 shots, but was quick not to lay blame Tuesday. "Stu maybe wasn't on his 'A' game, our team wasn't on it's 'A' game in front of him," Knoblauch said. "I don't think there are any bad goals." However, Skinner has a .886 save percentage in the series compared to a .928 mark from Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. Calvin Pickard, who won six straight decisions after replacing a shaky Skinner in the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings before getting hurt, allowed one goal on eight shots in mop-up duty Monday. "Maybe an extra save," Knoblauch added of Skinner's Game 3 showing. "But it doesn't matter how well Stu played, it wouldn't have made any difference in the game most likely. I'm not holding anything against Stu on that performance."
CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
Experts expect close, intense Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final after Oilers' Game 3 meltdown
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers had 140 penalty minutes in Monday night's Stanley Cup Final game. Nicole Weisberg reports on the "penalty chaos." You know that messy, penalty-filled and seemingly unhinged third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night? The one in which several Edmonton Oilers players fought their Florida Panthers rivals in a good, old-fashioned line brawl, took a bazillion penalties which saw a bunch of them ejected from the eventual 6-1 Panthers win to put them up two games to one? It's a good thing, Oilers fans. The whole thing bodes well for the team and for hopes of a close, intense battle in Thursday's Game 4, say a former Oiler and a sports psychologist. 'If you lose a game, it's better to lose 6-1 than a close one, because the way that (the Oilers) lost, they're going to be so upset about it that they're going to respond much stronger than (if it was) a close game,' Georges Laraque – who played seven seasons for them, including the 2005-06 campaign that saw them make a run to Game 7 of the Cup final, and who remains a fan favourite – told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday. Oilers practice Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse, left, looks up ice during practice at the NHL Stanley Cup final in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS) 'Big Georges,' now a radio show host in Montreal who often returns to Edmonton, said he expects Game 4 to be close and that the Oilers will play much more disciplined than in the penalty-filled Game 3, in which the Oilers took 85 minutes in penalties and gave the Panthers 11 power plays, three of which led to Florida goals. What Laraque saw on Monday late in the game, when five Oilers received misconducts and were ejected from the rest of the game, was a team collectively preparing mentally for the next one. Panthers vs. Oilers Linesman Trent Knorr gets between Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (top) and Edmonton Oilers' Trent Frederic during the third period in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS) 'If it's a close game ... you're not going to see that because it's a one-goal game, but often in the playoffs, if a game is getting out of hand like it was (Monday), then at the end of the game, things will always happen,' he said. 'It's just to show that, 'You know what? We care, and we're going to come back strong.'' Ben Sereda, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation at the University of Alberta in the area of sport and performance psychology, said Tuesday the way in which the Oilers lost, featuring a lopsided score and several penalties, can be used to their advantage, 'whether that's anger, whether that's frustration, that extra little drive, that extra little bit of fuel that can be used to sharpen focus, to be more disciplined, but also give your body that extra little step.' 'I really saw ... (a) deep investment that was reflected,' Sereda told CTV News Edmonton. 'They are experiencing such a high level of emotion because they care so much.' Panthers vs. Oilers Florida Panthers' Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores on Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) as Evan Bouchard (2) defends during the first period in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS) He said one of the keys to Game 4 for Edmonton is that they have a significant amount of experience coming back from adversity in the playoffs. This year, the Oilers overcame a two-games-to-none deficit to beat the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the post-season. Last year, they faced elimination by the Vancouver Canucks but won the final two games of their best-of-seven second-round series to win it. And, also last year, they tried to pull off the near-impossible – come back from being down three games to none in the Stanley Cup Final against these same Panthers – and ended up short by one game. 'If it's a close game ... you're not going to see that because it's a one-goal game, but often in the playoffs, if a game is getting out of hand like it was (Monday), then at the end of the game, things will always happen.' — Georges Laraque 'They've been through, even in this series, really tough losses,' Sereda said. 'With that in mind, and thinking back to the past few rounds, to past years, they've been able to bounce back. They've proven to themselves that they can effectively do it ... 'Drawing on that experience and hopefully having a little bit more distance from (Monday's) game will hopefully allow them to prepare more objectively and effectively.' Laraque, Toskala, Georges San Jose Sharks goalie Vesa Toskala (left) watches the puck as teammate Josh Georges gets knocked over by Edmonton Oilers Georges Laraque (right) during first period NHL Western Conference semi-final action in Edmonton Friday May 12, 2006. (Chuck Stoody/The Canadian Press) Laraque said 'it's crucial' the Oilers win Game 4 in Sunrise, Fla., and expects they will. 'They're going to be disciplined, and they'll do everything to come back with the win,' he said. '(For) Game 4, knowing how important that it is, I think the Oilers will raise their level of play, and they have a really good road record in the playoffs this year. 'They know what they have to do.' With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg
