Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 12, 2024, 03:47 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid, the leading scorer in the NHL playoffs, doesn’t have a goal for the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. The power play he orchestrates, the most dominant in the league, hasn’t generated a goal either.
The Florida Panthers have built a 2-0 series lead with their defense, but McDavid is confident the Oilers can break through against them in a critical Game 3 on Thursday night in Edmonton.
“We usually solve penalty kills,” McDavid said. ” And I would expect we’ll figure this one out too.”
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Edmonton’s offense is fueled by its power play, which clicked at better than 37% through three rounds of the postseason. It went 0-for-3 in Game 1 but generated good chances, as Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made six shorthanded saves. The Panthers’ PK improved in Game 2 — as did almost every other facet of their game — as Edmonton went 0-for-4 and only generated just one shot on goal with the man advantage.
In four games against the Panthers this season, including two in the regular season, the Oilers are 0-for-12 on the power play.
“They’re challenging the puck,” McDavid said. “They’re jumping wherever your next play is going. You see wherever the puck goes, they’re ready to jump on that.”
The Oilers star said his team needs to have a little more “road hockey” approach to the power play in order to break that defense.
“It’s got to be a little bit more of like a 5-on-5 mentality. It’s not going to be as structured as a power play, but just using instinct,” McDavid said. “We call it ‘playing road hockey.’ We’ve got to be elite at that.”
The Oilers have generated only one goal in the first two games in the Final — an odd-man-rush shot from defenseman Mattias Ekholm in Game 2 that beat Bobrovsky. The Panthers relied on their star goalie to win Game 1 but were much better defensively overall in Game 2, limiting Edmonton to 19 shots.
“I…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40336209/oilers-try-road-hockey-approach-vs-panthers-stanley-cup-final
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-12 20:52:09
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