Current:Home > InvestEdmonton Oilers are searching for answers down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final-InfoLens
Edmonton Oilers are searching for answers down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final
View Date:2024-12-23 11:23:29
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl had 28 points through the Edmonton Oilers’ first three rounds of the playoffs, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had 20 and Zach Hyman had 18.
Through the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, they have not a single goal or assist between them.
That lack of production is a big reason the Oilers are down 3-0 in the series against the Florida Panthers and searching for answers as they look to avoid being the first team swept in the final since the Washington Capitals in 1998.
“They’re doing a good job,” said Hyman, who has a team-high 14 goals this postseason. “Give their goalie credit, but there’s no excuses. This is the time of year where there aren’t any excuses. ... You got to be able to bear now when you have a chance, but I think that the looks are there.”
Scoring chances have been plentiful, something coach Kris Knoblauch pointed out repeatedly after practice Friday and an aspect of the series that puts Edmonton in a strange spot. Connor McDavid, who has three assists, and others have had such quality opportunities against Sergei Bobrovsky that Knoblauch thinks it’s a matter of time until the Oilers break through.
Time is just something that is not on their side given they can be eliminated Saturday night in Game 4 on home ice.
“You keep shooting the puck, good things are going to happen,” veteran winger Corey Perry said. “You go to the net, good things are going to happen. It’s tough because it’s where we are and the point of the season to go through (this), but we just keep plugging away and good things are going to happen.”
They need to happen quickly to have any chance of extending the series to a Game 5 at Florida on Tuesday night.
It starts with McDavid, Draisaitl and the other highly paid stars finding a way to beat Bobrovsky, who has been Edmonton’s biggest obstacle in the final. Those two alone have combined for 23 shots on net, with none of them going in.
“It’s very frustrating, of course,” Draisaitl said after losing Game 3. “I pride myself on being good in the playoffs and playing well and I just can’t seem to get anything going. Yeah, obviously have to look in the mirror and try to be better.”
One thing that needs to be better is the power play, which is 0 for 10 this series after looking almost automatic at times earlier in the playoffs at a league-best 37%. A few clanks off the post and some crazy saves by Bobrovsky have been part of the goose egg and a big reason the Oilers are not expecting to reinvent their power play at this stage.
Point man Evan Bouchard thinks it’s just a matter of bearing down.
“We’re getting our looks, especially on the power play,” Bouchard said. “We’re getting one good look per power play, essentially, it seems like. If one of those goes in, it’s a different game. Next game we’ve got to make sure we put one in when we get the chance.”
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
veryGood! (539)
Related
- Alexandra Daddario shares first postpartum photo of baby: 'Women's bodies are amazing'
- Banks get a downgrade from Moody's. Here are the 10 lenders impacted.
- Feds investigating power steering issue on older Ram 1500 pickups
- Teen sisters have been missing from Michigan since June. The FBI is joining the search.
- Glen Powell Addresses Rumor He’ll Replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Franchise
- Logan Paul to fight Dillon Danis in his first boxing match since Floyd Mayweather bout
- Watch: San Diego burglary suspect stops to pet friendly family dog
- Ukraine says woman held in plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as airstrikes kill 3
- Glen Powell Addresses Rumor He’ll Replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Franchise
- Zendaya's Hairstylist Kim Kimble Wants You to Follow These Easy AF Beauty Rules
Ranking
- 'Unfortunate error': 'Wicked' dolls with porn site on packaging pulled from Target, Amazon
- Tory Lanez expected to be sentenced for shooting Megan Thee Stallion: Live updates on Day 2
- Robert De Niro's Grandson Leandro's Cause of Death Confirmed by Officials
- Detroit Lions signing former Pro Bowl QB Teddy Bridgewater
- Ranked voting will decide a pivotal congressional race. How does that work?
- Colin Cowherd includes late Dwayne Haskins on list of QBs incapable of winning Super Bowls
- The toughest plastic bag ban is failing: A tale of smugglers, dumps and dying goats
- 'Passages' captures intimacy up-close — and the result is messy and mesmerizing
Recommendation
-
Chrysler recalls over 200k Jeep, Dodge vehicles over antilock-brake system: See affected models
-
July was Earth's hottest month ever recorded, EU climate service says, warning of dire consequences
-
Zoom, which thrived on the remote work revolution, wants workers back in the office part-time
-
Cause of death revealed for Robert De Niro's grandson Leandro
-
Republican Vos reelected as Wisconsin Assembly speaker despite losing seats, fights with Trump
-
Electric bus maker Proterra files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
-
Stranger Things Star Noah Schnapp Shares College Dorm Essentials for the Best School Year Yet
-
Post-GOP walkout, Oregon elections chief says lawmakers with 10 or more absences can’t run next term