NHL Stanley Cup Final Isn’t Over For Edmonton Oilers: Or Is It?

The remarkable turnaround of the Edmonton Oilers back in November was an impressive feat. As was their ability to get up off the mat earlier in the playoffs.

As the Oilers prepare to host the Florida Panthers for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday, we await to see whether the Oilers have an even bigger rabbit to pull out of the hat.

The Oilers trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven championship series, and even though it may not be a do-or-die game they will hit the ice for before their frenzied fans, it is as much of a must-win as they have faced this season.

Yes, even bigger than those mid-November clashes when they started the season with only two victories in the first dozen contests and required a coaching change to turn their fortunes.

This clash is just as large as their Game 6 home date against the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference semifinals, when the Oilers trailed 3-2 in the series.

The Oilers rebounded from both of those situations. Do they have what it takes to do it again? 

Frankly, their chances look bleak. 

Sure, their dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl may find the scoring touch they have been unable to bring into the finals. The top two point producers so far in the playoffs have combined for one assist in the opening two clashes—nno real surprise since the Oilers have managed only a single goal thus far.

Keeping those two in straight jackets for three or four consecutive games is a near-impossible task. Eventually, you can expect the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl, as well as Even Bouchard (the top-scoring defenseman in the postseason) and Zach Hyman (who leads all players with 14 goals in the playoffs), to make their offensive mark.

Regardless, it likely will not be enough to overtake a Panthers team that has been singularly focused on hoisting the Cup ever since losing last year’s finals to the Vegas Golden Knights.

En route to this point, the Panthers have dispatched teams with far more championship pedigree (the Tampa Bay Lightning) and more complete rosters in both the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers than what the Oilers are icing. The aforementioned trio of squads also boasted better goaltenders.

Sure, Edmonton has what it takes to win a game in this series—maybe even a couple of them—but their chances are fading faster than the ice in the drinks at a Miami Beach party. 

The task will be no easier as Florida captain Aleksander Barkov appears able to return to action after missing the last 10-plus minutes of the last game after being on the receiving end of a forearm hit to the face from Draisaitl. (The Oilers star whistled past the graveyard in terms of a potential suspension, but that is a whole different column.)

In fact, it may become more difficult for the Oilers with the status of polarizing and highly scrutinized defenseman Darnell Nurse, who saw only three shifts last game following a crushing check in the middle of the first period, questionable, as well as scoring forward Evander Kane obviously trying to play through a debilitating issue. 

For now, the Oilers are keeping faith that the freight train known as the Panthers can be stopped. 

“We have a great opportunity at home,” Hyman said. “Good teams take care of business (at home).... We have an opportunity to win one game back home and get back in the series.”

Using their home games to draw even in the series is a possible outcome for the Oilers, just not a likely one. Their magic appears to be all used up.