Game Story: The OEG Inc. (hashtag#LetsGoOilers) matched the Florida Panthers (hashtag#TimeToHunt) in every way during the Stanley Cup Finals opener on Monday. That’s fundamentally important. Coverage with Alec Nava here.
https://lnkd.in/eeUv8SgC
National Hockey League (NHL) Turner (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc) NHL Network Sportsnet hashtag#stanleycup hashtag#finals
Florida Panthers (47-31-4, 12-5) HC: Paul Maurice (Defeated TB 4-1, TOR 4-3 and CAR 4-1.)
Top Forwards In Regular Season: Sam Reinhart (39-42-81 +6), Aleksander Barkov 67 GP (20-51-71), Matthew Tkachuk 52 GP (22-35-57 –3), Carter Verhaeghe (20-33-53 –14), Sam Bennett (25-26-51 –15), Anton Lundell (17-28-45 +17)
Top Defensive Pairings In Regular Season: Aaron Ekblad 56 GP (3-30-33 +11), Gustav Forsling (11-20-31 +33), Niko Mikkola (6-16-22 +12), Nate Schmidt (5-14-19 +4)
Top Forwards in Playoffs: (17 Games Unless Noted) Aleksander Barkov (6-11-17 +4); Sam Bennett (10-6-16 +2); Matthew Tkachuk (5-11-16 +4); Carter Verhaeghe (6-8-14 +4); Brad Marchand (4-10-14 +11); Eetu Luostarinen (4-9-13 +11); Sam Reinhart (15 GP, 4-9-13 +4); Anton Lundell (5-7-12 +12); Evan Rodrigues (15 GP, 1-10-11 +2)
Top Defensive Pairings in Playoffs: Aaron Ekblad (13 GP, 3-8-11 +6); Seth Jones (3-4-7 +9); Nate Schmidt (3-4-7 +6); Niko Mikkola (3-2-5 +7); Dmitry Kulikov (1-3-4 +1); Gustav Forsling (1-3-4 +10)
Goaltending: Sergei Bobrovsky (54 GP, 33-19-2, 2.44 GAA, .906 SV, 5 SO) Playoffs: (12-5-0, 2.11 GAA, .912 SV, 3 SO); I haven’t included Vitek Vanecek because he isn’t going to play.
Keep In Mind The Depth: Panthers have scored at least five goals in this playoff run nine times! It’s 15 combined goals from the blueline as you can add-in Uvis Balinskis. Between fourth line forwards, A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich, Tomas Nosek a combined: (4-5-9 +10) Wild Card: Jesper Boqvist (11 GP, 2-3-5 Even) Is the third line of the Panthers in Marchand, Luostarinen and Lundell (13-26-39 +34) the best in the NHL? Again, those are the right playoff numbers!
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Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, 12-4) HC: Kris Knoblauch
(Seeking first Stanley Cup Since 1990, Home Ice for First Time in Final Since 1988)
Top Forwards In Regular Season: Leon Draisaitl (71 GP, 52-54-106 +32); Connor McDavid (67 GP, 26-74-100 +20); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (78 GP, 20-29-49 +4); Zach Hyman (73 GP, 27-17-44 +9); Connor Brown (13-17-30 +9); Corey Perry (19-11-30 +12)
Top Defensive Pairings In Regular Season: Evan Bouchard (14-53-67 +14); Mattias Ekholm (65 GP, 9-24-33 +11); Darnell Nurse (76 GP, 5-28-33 +11); Brett Kulak (7-18-25 –7)
Top Forwards in Playoffs: (16 Games Unless Noted) Connor McDavid (6-20-26 +10); Leon Draisaitl (7-18-25 +11); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (5-13-18 +8); Evander Kane (5-6-11 +5); Zach Hyman (OUT, 15 GP, 5-6-11 +10); Corey Perry (7-3-10 +4); Connor Brown (INJURED, 14 GP, 5-3-8 +3)
Top Defensive Pairings in Playoffs: Evan Bouchard (6-11-17 +9); Jake Walman (1-5-6 +12); Brett Kulak (1-4-5 +11); Darnell Nurse (2-3-5 +3); John Klingberg (15 GP, 1-3-4 +6); Mattias Ekholm (Returns, 1 GP, 1-0-1 +2)
Goaltending: Stuart Skinner (51 GP, 26-18-4, 2.81 GAA, .896 SV, 3 SO); Calvin Pickard (36 GP, 22-10-1, 2.71 GAA, .900 SV) Playoffs: Stuart Skinner (10 GP, 6-4-0, 2.53 GAA, .904 SV, 3 SO); Calvin Pickard (7 GP, 6-0-0, 2.84 GAA, .888 SV)
Which Skinner? Had a span of three shutouts in four games against VGK (3-0, 1-0 and 3-0) and gave up just one goal or fewer in five of those six games. This was a run that started by giving up 11 goals in two games against LA before being pulled. Pickard goes 6-0-0, gets hurt… and Skinner then seems to have the net under control. He is the best netminder in the league when it comes to keeping the past and poor performances in the back of his mind. With his candid answers, honesty and an upcoming UFA in 2026, maybe the Winnipeg Jets can use him for road playoff games, Connor Hellebuyck at home… then they can realize their Stanley Cup dreams! I’m honestly not joking!
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