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Oilers vs Panthers Stanley Cup Finals Game 4 |
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Down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. Fans are dissapointed, fans from other teams are taking their shots in, things aren't much fun in Oil Country right now.
We can talk about injuries, we can talk about reffing, goaltending, 5 on 5 play... the simple fact right now is that the Florida Panthers have played better than the Oilers. In Game 1, the Oilers outchanced Florida but Bobrovsky stood tall. Game 2 the Panthers countered and the Oilers had no answer. Game 3 was a far more back and forth game but a few minutes of critical errors all ended up in the back of Edmonton's net.
Do the Edmonton Oilers deserve to be in the Stanley Cup Finals? Absolutely they do. They dominated the LA Kings, played a great back and forth against the Canucks and beat a Dallas Stars team that was a heavy favorite for the Stanley Cup. The offense has dried up at the worst possible time but don't let this sour what has been an impressive run by a great team.
Again, there will be time when all of this is said and done, whether tonight, or a game after that, or maybe all the way to a game 7. For now there is still hockey to play. Edmonton has their backs against the wall. If this is their swan song, let it be an entertaining affair.
We have no idea what the lineup is going to be for tonight. Gagner skated with the main group but still looks like he is on the outside. Would love to see him get in for a game because I think his energy would be an added boost and I would love to see #89 suit up for one last game as an Oiler, especially in a Stanley Cup Final.
Nurse is hurt, Kane is hurt, everyone is hurting at this time of year but those are two players that Edmonton needs to be a factor that simply cannot due to their injury struggles. Guys like Henrique, Foegele, McLeod (though both did score in Game 3), Perry, Janmark, Brown simply have not provided the Oilers with enough.
Bobrovsky is on pace to set an NHL record for the highest SV% in a Stanley Cup Final series with an 0.984SV%. Edmonton hasn't made things nearly hard enough on Bob but I think it's also fine to recognize when an opponent is simply playing at a far more elite pace. Bobrovsky has been phenomenal for the Panthers through every series and he is a big part of why they are where they are.
On the other side, Skinner hasn't been good enough, that is absolutely a fact but even if Skinner was playing at a regular 0.925% pace it still wouldn't be enough to win against numbers like that.
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Maybe we are talking about Game 5 a day from now or maybe we are discussing the end of the Oilers season. For now all I will say is that I'm proud of this team for getting to this point and I hope the ride isn't over yet.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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