EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — There was a lot of talk heading into the Stanley Cup final about the Edmonton Oilers' vaunted power play and how Florida had to adjust to stay out of the penalty box, but their penalty kill was actually one of the biggest difference-makers in the series.
Edmonton stopped 19 of 20 penalties, including three in a 5-1 win in Game 6 on Friday night, to set up Game 7 of the finals on Monday night in Sunrise.
“Every series, you work hard at the start of the series, get a little momentum, get a little confidence,” said forward Mattias Janmark, who skated 13 minutes on the penalty kick in the final and scored one of the Oilers' two shorthanded goals. “They might back off a little bit, but we buckle up and get the upper hand. But the next game we've got to be at our best because they're probably looking for that one goal that they can score in the next game.”
Led by Janmark, linemate Connor Brown, defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse and, of course, goaltender Stuart Skinner, the Oilers' penalty kill has an NHL playoff-best success rate of 94.1 percent and has allowed just four goals on opponents' 68 power plays.
“We play with instincts and speed and shutting down guys,” Nurse said. “When we need to block, our guys are blocking, and that's good. I think we're doing that. I think even when we're having success, we're always trying to evolve and push ourselves further.”
With tension mounting, the Oilers outscored the Panthers' power play 2-1 on the penalty kill to take the series, becoming the first team to score consecutive shorthanded goals in a Cup Final since the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins (with Mario Lemieux and Bob Erie).
It was all down to the speed and talent they had to disrupt Florida's rhythm and push back, and Skinner pointed to a faceoff win on the penalty kill in Game 6 as an example of how they were able to set the tone.
“The guys are battling really hard,” said Skinner, who had four shorthanded saves Friday night. “We keep guys outside the neutral zone and make big blocks when we have opportunities. I think we're in a really good flow right now and we had a lot of penalty kill opportunities. So it's great for us to have that chemistry and we've got to keep it going in the next game.”
Head coach Chris Knoblauch has delegated penalty-killing duties to assistant Mark Stewart, a former defenseman who has worked the shift many times during his 12-year NHL career, and Nurse said Stewart has done a good job of preparing players for what to expect and that the system is working.
“They're prepared,” Knobloch said, “They know what to do. I think we have a good system in place with our group.”
Knoblauch also feels confident on the penalty kill, and that confidence grew in the fourth round. That confidence led to smart plays and few mistakes, which helped Edmonton rally from a 3-0 deficit in the final.
“I thought we were cleaning up our stick and playing physical and when we had opportunities to clear the puck, we were successful in doing so it's been a good run,” Nurse said. “We were instinctive, we were quick and we did a good job of containing guys, but we've got to do it again.”
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