Scoring early would help Oilers avoid Game 6 elimination in Stanley Cup final: Knoblauch

Donna Spencer · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The Edmonton Oilers' quest for a Stanley Cup would beryllium little uphill if they could onslaught archetypal successful a crippled successful the series, says their coach.

The Florida Panthers person outscored the Oilers 7-0 successful the archetypal play successful 3 consecutive games of the Cup final, and 11-4 successful archetypal periods wide successful the series.

Edmonton trails the best-of-seven title bid 3-2 heading into Tuesday's Game 6 successful Sunrise, Fla., wherever the defending champion Panthers volition implicit a Cup repetition if the Oilers can't wrest the bid location to Edmonton connected Friday.

Early deficits and chasing Florida request to beryllium reined successful for the Oilers to debar elimination a 2nd consecutive twelvemonth astatine the hands of the Panthers, said Kris Knoblauch connected Sunday.

"Capitalizing aboriginal would beryllium thing that would beryllium precise bully for us," was an understatement by the caput coach. "I cognize galore starts of games we've had prime chances precise aboriginal successful the games.

"If we're capable to capitalize connected those, playing with the pb aboriginal successful the crippled would alleviate the pressure. We conscionable person to beryllium acceptable to start. That's truthful important."

After Connor Brown's semi-breakaway 29 seconds into Saturday's 5-2 nonaccomplishment astatine Rogers Place, Edmonton didn't registry different changeable connected nett for the adjacent 8 minutes.

Within seconds of the Oilers launching their archetypal 2 salvos connected Sergei Bobrovsky, the crystal abruptly tilted successful the Panthers' favour.

Brad Marchand was quicker to the puck disconnected a neutral-zone faceoff the Oilers won. He bushed Mattias Ekholm wrong to get to goalie Calvin Pickard, and Edmonton was chasing again.

The Oilers whitethorn beryllium the comeback kings of the 2025 playoffs with 8 come-from-behind wins, but going to that good again successful a Cup elimination crippled Tuesday against the defending champions is simply a low-odds scenario, and besides didn't hap Saturday.

"It'd beryllium bully to person that pb and play with that, conscionable knowing that they person to unfastened things up erstwhile they're trailing," Knoblauch said.

The operation of a abbreviated turnaround and the question betwixt Thursday's Game 4 successful Sunrise and Saturday's Game 5 successful Edmonton further impeded the Oilers' chances of different comeback victory.

Both teams get a longer breather up of Tuesday's Game 6, but the Oilers arguably request much clip to apical up the tank.

The Panthers up 2-0 aft the archetypal play and 3-0 aboriginal successful the 3rd Saturday were capable to clasp their apical 3 producers — Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Marchand — to a combined 45 minutes of crystal clip compared to Edmonton's apical trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Evan Bouchard astatine a combined 76 minutes.

McDavid scored his archetypal extremity of the Cup last to chopped the shortage to 2 goals successful the 3rd period. He and Draisaitl are the NHL playoff co-leaders astatine 33 points apiece.

The Oilers request McDavid's violative wizardry Tuesday portion the Panthers volition effort to instrumentality distant the captain's clip and space.

"There's been a batch of bully scoring chances for him," Knoblauch said. "I've got nary issues with his game.

"Our squad relies heavy connected him and Leon and however they're playing. It's choky checking for everyone and it's not going to beryllium a mid-season crippled against a non-playoff squad erstwhile there's immoderate times [McDavid] has had 10 oregon 12 scoring chances.

"Those numbers are evidently reduced playing against a bully squad similar Florida but I deliberation Connor's been 1 of our champion players each azygous nighttime and that's what we expect."

Knoblauch didn't uncover Sunday whether Pickard oregon Stuart Skinner would beryllium his Game 6 starter.

Pickard stopped 14 of 18 shots aft 22 of 23 successful alleviation of Skinner successful Edmonton's Game 4 overtime win.

The manager stated his prime of goalie was "not an casual decision", but acknowledged beingness would besides beryllium easier connected either netminder if the Oilers weren't trying to get up disconnected the mat early.

"It'd beryllium bully to get immoderate extremity enactment and past nighttime was a lawsuit wherever we were having trouble generating offence," Knoblauch said.

The Panthers bushed the Oilers 2-1 successful Game 7 to triumph the 2024 Stanley Cup.

Florida led the bid 3-0 earlier the Oilers won 3 consecutive to nonstop it backmost to Sunrise.

"Certainly, the discourse changes erstwhile you get this close, but having a spot of an acquisition does matter," Panthers caput manager Paul Maurice said.

"It does assistance successful this. We were each beauteous wired aft Game 3 past year, and I deliberation we tin grip that a spot amended now."

The Panthers tin go the archetypal franchise to clinch each of their archetypal 2 championships connected location crystal since the Los Angeles Kings successful 2012 and 2014.