The Edmonton Oilers refuse to call it a must-win game, but if the Dallas Stars win tonight and take a 3-1 series lead back to Texas, fans in the Alberta capital might consider checking out tee times.
Trailing the best-of-seven Western Conference final 2-1, captain Connor McDavid said it’s “go time,” insisting his team just needs to keep its foot on the gas for 60 minutes to get the job done.
Here are five things to know about the NHL playoffs:
PANTHERS TIE SERIES OF OVERTIMES
The Florida Panthers put an end to the New York Rangers’ overtime win streak last night with a 3-2 victory — in overtime, of course.
Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal 72 seconds into the extra session levelled the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final at two games apiece.
After the Panthers opened the series at Madison Square Garden with a 3-0 road win, the Rangers bounced back with 2-1 and 5-4 overtime wins, with Barclay Goodrow and Alex Wennberg scoring the OT goals.
Vincent Trocheck gave the Rangers a first-period lead with his team’s first power-play goal of the series. The Rangers were unlucky to not add one or two more with the man advantage, especially early in the game when they were buzzing around the Panthers’ net.
PLENTY OF ELBOW ROOM FOR OPINIONS
Retired NHL referee Tim Peel, a co-host of the Snipes & Stripes podcast, believes Evan Rodrigues of the Florida Panthers embellished his reaction after being elbowed by Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.
Peel, who officiated 90 playoff games and more than 1,350 regular-season matches before hanging up the whistle, felt the NHL situation room got it right by not handing out a major penalty after reviewing the incident.
Peel, joined on the popular podcast by the no-filter, ex-NHLer Jeremy Roenick, promotes the fact they like to stir the pot on all things hockey.
Former NHL defenceman-turned-TV-commentator P.K. Subban disagreed, telling anyone who would listen that Trouba’s hit was not a hockey play — calling it a deliberate straight elbow to the chin, insisting it should have been a major.
HATS OFF TO ROBERTSON’S RISE
Jason Robertson picked a great time to snap a 10-game goal drought as his hat trick Monday night in Edmonton helped the Dallas Stars grab a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final and reclaim home-ice advantage from the Oilers.
Robertson became the second player in Dallas franchise history with a hat trick during the round before the Stanley Cup final, while the Stars established a team record for the fastest three goals (3:33) in a post-season contest.
Robertson, with 14 goals and 38 points in 42 games, moved past Mike Modano (19 goals, 37 points 48 games) for sole possession of the sixth-most post-season points in franchise history before age 25.
LOSING EFFORTS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
There is an old saying that suggests some days you’re the pigeon, some days you’re the statue.
Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse and goalie Stuart Skinner can easily relate.
Nurse was on the ice for the third and fourth Dallas goals in Game 3, dropping him to minus-12 — the worst of any player in the 2024 post-season.
Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch pushed back on that ugly number, but added the blueliner with two playoff assists and a US$9.25-million salary cap hit has more to give.
Skinner, who gave up four goals on 21 shots, was also “blamed” for the Oilers’ 5-3 loss, and heard puck pundits suggest it was time for backup Calvin Pickard to rescue the third-round series.
Skinner made 31 saves in the Oilers’ 3-2 double overtime win in Game 1, and stopped 22 of 24 in a tight 3-1 loss in Game 2.
BUBBLE BOYS EXPERIMENT OVER-RATED
Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer pauses each time he sets foot inside Rogers Place.
DeBoer was bench boss of the Vegas Golden Knights when the NHL used the Edmonton arena as one of its two tightly controlled “bubbles” amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Dallas eliminated Vegas in the semis before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup final.
DeBoer joked that he gets a “little PTSD” walking into the rink, adding that the “bubble” was a great experience but one he would never sign up for again.
“It was a social experiment. We were essentially locked up for 60 days.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.
