The Edmonton Oilers were nearly impossible to shake in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
As they beat the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, the Oilers had brief moments here or there where they looked unnerved, but that was only temporary. For the most part, the Oilers imposed their will on their opponent and made relatively short work of them.
But now, after three Stanley Cup final games against the defending champions, the Florida Panthers, the Oilers have been reactionary, knee-jerk-ish and ultimately, very beatable.
In Game 1 against the Panthers, Edmonton pulled out a win, but in the last two games, the Oilers have been increasingly overwhelmed by Florida’s waves of provocation.
The frustrating part for the Oilers is that they had to know the provocation was always coming, yet they still look very much like a team that doesn’t have the capacity to turn the other cheek. They’re down 2-1 as a result.
The Panthers made their bones by pushing the envelope, playing an extremely physical game and basically daring their opponent to maintain their composure.
Everybody knew what they were doing. And thus far, only the Toronto Maple Leafs – which took the Panthers to seven games in the second round – absorbed Florida’s punches, literally and competitively, and gave the Panthers a run for their money. But even then, the Leafs eventually wilted under Florida’s unending pressure with blowout losses at home.
You would think Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch would’ve made it clear to his players that they couldn’t give in to the temptation to pound the Panthers into a new zip code. Trent Frederic even discussed that before the Cup final.
"You have to stay away from the stuff after whistles," Frederic told Ryan Kennedy. "I like our power play a lot, but we can't fall into their trap."
Florida had 11 power plays on Monday. They scored three times with the man advantage in the 6-1 win. Edmonton went 1-for-6 on the power play.
After the game was essentially out of hand for Edmonton, the Oilers completely melted down, getting into something close to a line brawl. Some might’ve viewed the late-game breakdown as a sign of life for Edmonton, but this writer saw it as a sign that the Panthers were utterly and completely under the Oilers’ skin.
If the Oilers are going to get back in this series, their discipline will have to drastically improve. Florida’s professional troublemakers, such as Sam Bennett, must be ignored as much as possible. Otherwise, the Panthers will just push forward with the Oilers under control.
In Game 1, Florida only had two power plays, compared to Edmonton's four. The Oilers looked like they were playing their game instead of letting Florida dictate the tone. And although the Oilers had six power plays in Game 2, they gave Florida four as well, leading up to Game 3's chaos.
If Games 4 and 5 look anything like Game 3, the Oilers will be on the losing end of the Cup final for the second straight season. They must stick to their game if they intend on winning.
Promo image credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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