EDMONTON, Alberta — The Florida Panthers mentioned their blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Sport 4 of the Stanley Cup Closing was a studying expertise.
What a harsh training it was: Dropping 8-1 on Saturday night time, watching their star goaltender get pulled, and squandering an opportunity to win the Cup in a sequence sweep.
“We both win or we study,” captain Aleksander Barkov mentioned. “It solely counts as one win. It would not matter how a lot you lose — whether or not it is 2-1 or 8-1. Clearly, we have to bounce again. We have to get better now and take into consideration the following one.”
The Panthers had not been overwhelmed that emphatically all postseason. In truth, the Oilers made NHL historical past within the win, tying the 1918 Vancouver Millionaires for the biggest margin of victory when going through elimination in Stanley Cup Closing. They had been one aim away from the tying the biggest margin of victory in Stanley Cup Closing historical past, a file eight objectives set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in opposition to the Minnesota North Stars in 1991.
Florida coach Paul Maurice downplayed the blowout loss.
“I will hearth up no less than as soon as cliche for you: We got here into Edmonton to get a cut up and we acquired what we wanted,” he mentioned. “However most cliches have some benefit to it. Generally, issues will likely be much more excessive exterior your room than inside it. So at 3-0 (within the sequence), we’re not sitting there, getting the engravers out. We misplaced the sport tonight.”
Edmonton could not have scripted an even bigger reversal of fortune after three straight losses.
Their star heart, Connor McDavid, had a four-point night time, setting an NHL file for many assists in a single postseason (32) within the course of. His 38 factors are fifth all-time in a single postseason.
Their different standout offensive gamers hit the rating sheet for the primary time within the sequence, as Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard all recorded their first factors in opposition to the Panthers. The Oilers energy play lastly transformed, having now gone 1-for-16 within the sequence – though Maurice mentioned he is “not counting” that one, because it was scored on a 5-on-3 energy play.
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Maybe most of all, they chased goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, scoring 5 objectives on 16 photographs in opposition to the netminder. That gave them seven objectives of their final three durations vs. the beforehand impenetrable goalie, who entered Sport 4 with a .953 save proportion within the sequence.
“He’d have sufficient,” mentioned Maurice, who changed Bobrovsky with Anthony Stolarz at 4:59 of the second interval. “My quantity on Bob’s in all probability 5 (objectives) typically. In order that’s (a) regular resolution.”
Winger Matthew Tkachuk mentioned he isn’t apprehensive about carry over to Sport 5 for Bobrovsky.
“We gave up eight objectives, and nil of them had been the goalie’s fault,” he mentioned. “(Bobrovsky) has been unbelievable all 12 months, all playoffs. That was extra of a wake-up name to the forwards and the D versus [him]. It had nothing to do with Bob. We all know he’ll come again higher than ever and with that being mentioned, none of them had been his fault.”
The Panthers had an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup in a sweep. The chalice was within the constructing. The gamers mentioned that wasn’t a distraction. Their coach acknowledged it introduced a special form of problem.
“It is the primary alternative that we have had as a franchise actually to really feel the 2 (previous) days — the joy of it, the feelings of it. We’ll discover ways to channel it. That is all a part of this course of,” he mentioned.
Sport 5 of the Stanley Cup Closing is Tuesday night time in Dawn, Florida.