They live to play another La Bamba. But the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship and denied the Dallas Mavericks their chance at making a comeback from 3-0 down. I hope that not too many Hockey fans are superstitious.
The idea of miraculously forcing Game 7 is still the biggest mountain to climb when you just look solely at the mountain ahead. Even if the Edmonton Oilers do end up tying the series, nobody should expect Sergei Bobrovsky to get pulled again. At the same time, I’ve never agreed with the notion that running the score is poor sportsmanship. We’ve seen Edmonton blow multi-goal leads many, many times. They almost blew a 3-0 Game 7 lead in Round 2, and I still remember New Year’s Eve of 2019 when they almost blew a 6-0 lead. You’re not going to score 8 goals every night, but you never let your opponents have a chance to stage a comeback. Stuart Skinner had to make a diving save off a 2v1 rush in the first period when his team was only up 2-1. Were it not for that great save, had that shot tied the game, it could’ve been Florida with all the momentum.
Related Post: Updates on Edmonton Oilers Ahead of Game 5
A powerplay goal, a shorthanded goal, and 6 5v5 goals, you love to see it. Leon Draisaitl finally got his name on the box score again with a couple of assists. Connor McDavid broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most assists in a single postseason with 32, and the postseason isn’t done yet. Two years ago, Draisaitl broke a Gretzky record himself; most assists in a single series, and he did it while skating on one good foot. The Oilers have had their secondary players provide loads of offense in this series, but much was made about their stars needing to get going. They did, and we’ll see if it’ll carry over. It has to, or else their season is over.
It wouldn’t have been a pretty sight for fans of the team that’s down to get swept in the Stanley Cup Finals. There’s a video online of McDavid signing autographs from his car. He and his team know what’s at stake, but I thought that was a pretty nice gesture to not appear rattled. As he said before Game 4, “Just keep cheering, it’s not over until it’s over.” Going back to the Sunshine State, they’ll have to imagine hearing the cheers from afar. The keys to the game are…
Keep On Streaking: Of course, the Finals are different from the regular season, but dating back to their coaching change, they have good records after losing 3 in a row. From Nov. 24th – Dec. 12th, they won 8 in a row. From Dec. 21st – Jan. 27th, they won their franchise-record 16 in a row. And from Feb. 26th – Mar. 5th, they won 5 in a row. Now down 3-1 in the series, at this time of the year, do they have another lengthy winning streak in them?
Man Advantage Revival? The Oilers are 1/16 on the powerplay heading into Game 5, but finally scored on one in Game 4. Draisaitl’s patented one-timer from the side of the net found twine again. He didn’t score, but his shot went past the goalie, and the puck was there for two others to bury the rebound. In a previous presser, you could notice Leon wearing a bandage on his finger. Perhaps that’s what’s lessening his Playoff production recently. But regardless, he needs to play through it and repeat that shot that he’s always been so good at.
THEIR Game 7: The conspiracy coming from nowhere that the Panthers purposely gave Game 4 away because they prefer winning the Cup in front of their fans is bogus. Even though it’s nicer to do, teams can’t afford scheduled losses at any time in the Playoffs, most especially in the Finals. But finishing the series in front of their fans now is absolutely vital for them to do. We have to expect a much bigger effort from them tonight as opposed to Saturday night. If they don’t finish it off, the seeds of doubt might be planted in them. The Oilers will take no issue with flying back to Edmonton if they come up with another huge win.
ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink
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