FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was impenetrable of their 3-0 Stanley Cup Ultimate Recreation 1 victory over Edmonton. However the Oilers are assured that they will discover methods to beat him.
“He is goalie,” Edmonton star Leon Draisaitl mentioned Sunday. “He’ll make some big-time saves. Understanding that’s necessary. With our group we’re at all times going to get our appears to be like. We’re at all times going to get possibilities. Proceed to play free and simply play our recreation.”
Bobrovsky stopped all 32 pictures he confronted in Recreation 1. He held the road within the first interval, when the Panthers had been outshot 12-4. He made six saves on the penalty kill, the place Florida went 3-for-3 towards a unit that was changing at over 37% after three rounds of the playoffs. He turned apart three Edmonton breakaways, together with a pad cease on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to protect the Florida lead.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch would not go so far as to say that Bobrovsky stole Recreation 1.
“It is honest to say that he performed very well, however I believe there’s simply issues that we will do which might be in our management that we may have made extra on our possibilities,” he mentioned. “He positively made some massive saves, however I believe there have been some missed alternatives the place we simply missed the online or did not get the shot that we needed.”
Knoblauch mentioned he additionally would not imagine the Recreation 1 shutout will get in his gamers’ heads.
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“We’ve got to simply put ourselves ready to get good-quality scoring possibilities and bear down on these alternatives. And if we’re enjoying properly, they will go our means,” he mentioned. “Pretty much as good as any goaltender can play towards us, we’ll get some manufacturing.”
One space the place the Oilers may enhance is of their shot placement. Bobrovsky has given up 38 targets this postseason. Of these, 31 have been high-glove or high-blocker facet. He is large down low, and hasn’t given up a single 5-hole objective within the playoffs.
“Clearly, you wish to get it excessive, that is your finest likelihood,” mentioned Nugent-Hopkins, who regretted not lifting his breakaway alternative on Bobrovsky. “He is an athletic goalie, so he’ll take out many of the backside of the online. We had just a few appears to be like like that the place you suppose you bought him, however he would not stop on it.”
Bobrovsky was a key to the Panthers conserving the Oilers’ energy play scoreless. They bought some appears to be like, however the Florida goalie noticed them cleanly.
“They’ve a terrific energy play,” Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling mentioned. “I believe you possibly can see how efficient they are often. We saved them on the skin and let Bob see the puck more often than not. So I believe we keep it up, preserve placing the strain on.”
Edmonton star Connor McDavid led his crew with six pictures on objective. The playoffs’ main scorer with 31 factors, he was harmful all evening. However he could not get by way of the Panthers’ final line of protection.
“He’ll make performs and generally he dangles you,” Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola mentioned. “However that is why we now have a Bobby.”
In different sequence information, the well being of Oilers ahead Evander Kane was a subject of dialog. Kane was a minus-1 and, for the second straight recreation, did not try a shot on objective. In his previous eight video games, he has just one help.
Kane has been coping with a sports activities hernia all season. He has tried to handle it by not practising and skating a lot on off days.
“It would not have an effect on my higher physique,” Kane mentioned earlier within the playoffs. “Anyone who’s had that kind of damage understands that it is extra skating, quickness and agility that may actually have an effect on you.”
Knoblauch acknowledged that Kane is not himself.
“Clearly, he isn’t the Evander Kane that he was a few years in the past, and even after I got here right here,” mentioned the coach, who was employed final November. “He was scoring at will, placing up a reasonably good season. After which he needed to take a while off with some accidents and upkeep days.”
Kane had 24 targets and 20 assists in 77 regular-season video games.
“Evander has been good for our crew,” Knoblauch mentioned. “He is possibly not displaying up on the rating sheet as a lot as has prior to now, however nonetheless contributing to our crew and I do not suppose we might be the place we’re right now if Evander hadn’t been enjoying all through the playoffs.”