Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers are in a world of trouble after falling short in a must-win Game 3 against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on Thursday night. The franchise's first home Stanley Cup Final tilt in 18 years ended in a disappointing 4-3 defeat, and the prospect of a four-game sweep now stares the squad down ahead of Saturday night's Game 4.
But the National Hockey League's best player isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“Just keep cheering,” the captain said when asked if he had any message for the fans after a furious comeback fell just short on Thursday. “It's not over until it's over.”
Objectively, it's looking extremely bleak for the Oilers, who last won a championship back in 1990. Edmonton is 0-for-10 on the powerplay in the series, and the man advantage unit has been a key reason why the team advanced this far in the first place.
It doesn't help that McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard have combined for zero goals in the series. The Panthers deserve a ton of credit for that, but the Oilers' offense has dried up at the absolute worst time.
“Yeah, it's very frustrating, of course,” said Draisaitl, who entered the Stanley Cup Final with 28 points in 18 games but doesn't have a single point against Florida. “I pride myself on being good in the playoffs and playing well and just can't seem to get anything going. So yeah, I obviously have to look in the mirror and try to be better.”
Despite the seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series hole, the Oilers still have belief that they can make the series competitive — and at least sent it back to South Beach for a Game 5.
Oilers on the brink, but still have belief
“I think we've showed that we can beat this team,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said afterwards, despite the Oilers now being 0-5 against the Cats this season. “I think there's a lot of belief in that. It's not like we're getting outplayed and we're just [saying], ‘That team's better than us.' We can string together a lot of wins. We've shown it. I don't think there's any doubt in our room.”
“I'm not too sure what the stats are on coming back in it, but if anyone can do it, it's the Oil,” echoed goaltender Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves on 23 shots in his third consecutive loss.
Skinner received a fair share of criticism on social media for that take, and it's pretty clear that most hockey fans are not giving Edmonton any type of chance to come back.
But, as Draisaitl said, “no choice but to take it one game at a time. Try and get one win in Game 4 and go from there.” All the Oilers can do at this point is try and secure a victory in front of the home crowd at Rogers Place, and at least plant the seed of doubt.
It's probably safe to say that for that to happen, Edmonton's superstars need to get on the scoresheet on Saturday night.
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