The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are set to face off in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. The Panthers will now look to defeat the Oilers again to become back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
However, the Panthers know that the Oilers are going to be an extremely tough challenge. Edmonton has an incredible roster and is entering the Stanley Cup Final red-hot. Thus, if the Panthers hope to defeat them, they need these three things to happen.
Panthers Need To Shut Down Connor McDavid & Oilers’ Stars
If the Panthers hope to knock out the Oilers, they going to need to shut down Connor McDavid and the rest of their top stars. McDavid has been excellent this post-season, recording six goals and 26 points in 16 games. Leon Draisaitl has 25 points in 16 games, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard are also producing at an over a point-per-game pace.
Besides their top stars, the Oilers are also getting strong production from players like Evander Kane, Corey Perry, and Connor Brown. With all of this, the Panthers need to be on their A-game defensively if they hope to get by the Oilers.
Panthers Need Sergei Bobrovsky To Outplay Stuart Skinner
A major reason for the Panthers’ success this post-season has been the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. The 36-year-old currently has a 12-5 record, a 2.11 goals-against average, and a .912 save percentage. However, after a tough start to the playoffs, Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner has also been excellent. Skinner has recorded three shutouts and a .966 save percentage or better in five out of his last seven games.
With how hot Skinner is playing right now, the Panthers are going to need Bobrovsky to thrive against Edmonton. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has shown that he is capable of stepping up in the playoffs, and it will be fascinating to see if he does that against Edmonton from here.
Panthers Need Offense To Continue To Shine
The Panthers’ offense has been excellent this post-season, and another notable reason why Florida is back in the Stanley Cup Final. Besides getting strong offensive production from their top stars, their depth guys have also been stepping up big time. For example, Eetu Luostarinen has a notable 13 points in 17 games. In addition, the Panthers have had 19 different goal-scorers this playoffs.
The Oilers’ are an offensively-dominant team, so the Panthers will need their top players, like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett to step up for them.
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