Edmonton Oilers Face Elimination in Cup Final Head On

The Edmonton Oilers became pretty adept in elimination games at the Stanley Cup Final last year.

In 2024, the Panthers raced to a 3-0 series lead only to see the Oilers stave off elimination three times before the Panthers prevailed in Game 7.

In this year’s opening round, they beat Los Angeles after recovering from a 2-0 deficit.

They are prepared tonight for what is known in the trade as “desperation hockey.”

Two of their three losses to Florida were by decisive margins, and Edmonton’s last win was a miraculous comeback from a three-goal deficit.

That’s not the best formula for winning games.

Their starts have been horrendous.

The Panthers have a 7-0 edge in first period goals in the past three games.

Three of those seven goals came on the power play after undisciplined Edmonton penalties.

“I think the most important thing is,’’ coach Kris Knoblauch said, “to stay out of the penalty box.”

As of yesterday, Knoblauch had not made the difficult goaltending decision for tonight.

We probably won’t know the answer to that until this morning’s skate.

While both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have played very well in the playoffs, the past three games have been problematic: They have relinquished a combined 15 goals on 90 shots. That’s an .833 save percentage.

For the entire playoffs Skinner sports an .891 save percentage with Pickard at .886. These are not the numbers which win championships.

Knoblauch maintained a positive outlook, as coaches should do, and is confident of his team’s ability to bounce back.

“I think our guys are resilient,’’ he said. “That’s a term that’s been used to describe these guys for a long period of time. Last year, this year, how many elimination games that we had. For some reason when their backs are against the wall and they’ve hit rock bottom, or they are facing elimination… last year in the playoffs, numerous elimination games against Florida, Vancouver, again backs against the wall, they play their best…They’re embracing the challenge.”

Only as Matthew Tkachuk reminded, this is the first time Edmonton is facing elimination in these playoffs. 

After going down 0-2 to the Kings, Edmonton rolled to four straight wins. The Oilers beat Vegas and Dallas in 5. 

“For whatever reason our group doesn’t like to make it easy on ourselves,’’ Connor McDavid said. “We put ourselves in another difficult spot and it’s our job to work our way out of it.”

He acknowledged how difficult it has been to get good scoring opportunities, especially facing the Barkov line.

“Their whole team defends very well, whether you’re out there against Barkov or anybody else, it’s difficult. They play a really solid brand of hockey. If you do manage to get through Barkov and their forwards, then you’ve got Forsling, Ekblad, Jones back there. They’ve got a pretty good goalie as well.

“They’re a good team. They don’t make it easy on you. It’s our job to figure them out.”

Paul Maurice has always maintained that the Panthers play the same regardless of the significance of the game.

Knowing he’s facing a desperate Edmonton team and a couple of superstars still looking for their first Cup, he expects maybe just a little bit more from the Oilers.

“I don’t think anybody saves it for the elimination game,’’ Maurice said. “I think there’s a certain freedom that comes into a Game 7 concept, whether it’s Game 5, 6 or 7, and that freedom allows them to start the game with that attack mindset. That will make them very dangerous right from the start.”

Enjoy.

Tonight may be one for the ages.

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 6

EDMONTON OILERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Panthers Lead Best-of-7 Series 3-2

• When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT); Game 2: Florida 5, @Edmonton 4 (2OT); Game 3: @Florida 6, Edmonton 1; Game 4: Edmonton 5, @Florida 4 (OT); Game 5: Florida 5, @Edmonton 2; Game 6: @Florida Tuesday; Game 7*: @Edmonton Friday.
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• Regular Season: Panthers won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties