Panthers Hope To Rebound From Blowout Loss, Returning Home On The Verge Of Winning The Stanley Cup

Edmonton, Alberta: The morning following the Edmonton Oilers’ 8-1 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, which sent the series back across North America, there was a lot of banter around the Florida Panthers’ breakfast table.

The Panthers return home to South Florida up 3-1 in the final, with another chance to win the first championship in franchise history in front of their home supporters, as crooked as that setback was in their initial attempt to finish the series.

“We (need) to manage the losses,” captain Aleksander Barkov declared. Naturally, there is only one victory. 2-1 or 8-1 is irrelevant; we must win. We have to heal up now and consider the next one.

Panthers | AP News Image

Panthers Hope To Rebound From Blowout Loss, Returning Home On The Verge Of Winning The Stanley Cup

Game 5 is next Tuesday night in Sunrise, and the crowd is expected to be crammed with hockey history buffs. In its thirty-first season, Florida hopes to become the 22nd of the NHL’s 32 teams to win the Cup.

After a letdown in which Sergei Bobrovsky was yanked for surrendering five goals on 16 shots, the Oilers dominated nearly every aspect of the game, scoring short-handed, on a 5-on-3 power play, and six more times at even strength. Some modifications will need to be made to complete the job.

“Zero of the eight goals we gave up were the goalies’ fault,” winger Matthew Tkachuk remarked. Lots to learn from, then. Indeed, a great deal to absorb.

With reigning and three-time MVP Connor McDavid leading the way, Barkov thinks the Panthers learned lessons about falling behind early and how good Edmonton can be at its best. That is what Tkachuk and coach Paul Maurice believe was the main problem in the loss, which occurred on a 2-on-1 short-handed rush on Saturday night three minutes in.

Sunday, before taking out for home, Maurice stated, “There was an obvious theme in that game last night: They got to us off the rush in a big way.” They were formidable and aggressive in their rush game, and we mishandled several one-on-one situations and lost some coverage. We must prepare to improve, even though they were quick and good.

Panthers | AP news Image

Panthers Hope To Rebound From Blowout Loss, Returning Home On The Verge Of Winning The Stanley Cup

When the puck drops, the Oilers fully understand that the Panthers are coming off their worst game of the playoffs and their first loss since early in the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers, which they won in six after trailing 2-1 in that series. Better Florida is exactly what the Oilers are expecting.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch noted the distractions his opponent faced in arranging for family and friends to travel to Alberta for a possible game-winning moment. “They’re going to be much more prepared for Game 5 than they were in Game 4,” he said. They will react when you return home after being thrashed. Their performance will improve. How they do it is unknown to me. Though we are powerless over it, we have a fairly decent sense of their team identity and style of play.

The Panthers have to learn emotional self-control in an environment that the great majority of its players and coaches have never encountered. After Game 4, Maurice admitted that they were affected by the human aspect of coping with the thrill of being one win away from realizing a lifelong dream.

Though losing the first opportunity to win a championship is a typical theme for teams across sports that have yet to face that struggle, Barkov dismissed the idea that the Stanley Cup being on the line was a distraction.

“We have to be ready for that since the Cup will be in the building at some point,” Barkov added.

Panthers | AP news Image

Panthers Hope To Rebound From Blowout Loss, Returning Home On The Verge Of Winning The Stanley Cup

It will be polished again on Tuesday night if Florida can duplicate what worked in Games 1 through 3, and Commissioner Gary Bettman hands Barkov the trophy. Players frantically avoid thinking about that, preferring to concentrate on the current challenge with a still sizable lead in the series.

We are in an amazing position right now, Tkachuk added. “Come back with a game plan in Game 5, be ready to go, and we’ll try to win it at home.”

SOURCE – (AP)