The Edmonton Oilers are being pegged as underdogs in the Stanley Cup Final versus the Florida Panthers. The main reason is that the Panthers play a physical style and are dogged on the forecheck, and many believe that will be too much for the Oilers to handle. But, as much as hitting and a heavy forecheck might be a factor in this series, is that aspect of the Panthers game being given too much credit?
The Oilers Have Played Physical Teams Already
When you look at the Panthers’ total hit count, it is the highest in the NHL during these playoffs. No doubt, they are a physical team that likes to play that style of wearing their opponents down. Having said that, part of the total is a result of the number of games played. The Panthers have played 18 games this postseason, good for a 42.48 Hits/60 total. The Los Angeles Kings, who the Oilers beat handily had a higher count. The Vancouver Canucks weren’t shabby either, ranking 8th among the 16 playoff teams.
Edmonton is used to playing teams who play more physically than they do. It seems to be a choice not to respond in kind, choosing instead to beat teams with possession, speed, and skill. The Oilers are resilient. They have players who have been targeted all their lives and the grinding toll doesn’t seem to affect Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. In fact, the Oilers seem to enjoy letting physical teams step over the line, take penalties, and then make them pay for it.
The Oilers Can Play That Style
Edmonton ranks pretty low in Hits/60, but it’s not necessarily because they don’t have guys who can hit. With Evander Kane, Dylan Holloway, Darnell Nurse, Sam Carrick, Connor Brown, and even stars like Zach Hyman and McDavid, the Oilers can and will dish it out when the situation calls for it. Corey Perry is a pest, and Vincent Desharnais is always good for a double headlock.
In Game 5 in the series with the Canucks, Edmonton out-hit Vancouver 49-38. This was after several reporters called out Darnell Nurse for his lack of production. In a few games against Dallas (admittedly a less physical team), Edmonton badly out-hit the Stars. One of their key wins came in Game 4 when Edmonton was down 2-1 in the series. They decided to ramp up the physicality and won that game handily.
The Oilers won’t be relying on that aspect of their game, but if the series turns into a donnybrook, Edmonton has the skaters to respond.
Oilers Won’t be Phased by Panthers’ Intimidating Style
Leon Draisaitl said on Wednesday, “We’re certainly not intimidated by physicality. We’ve handled it well in the Vancouver series, handled it in the LA series, Dallas was a little bit different, but we’re a good enough team, we’ve got enough guys that know how to play that type of way as well, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Edmonton is fully aware of how the Panthers play. They were aware of what the Kings were going to try and do, and what the Canucks would try. It didn’t matter. The only big difference is that the Panthers are also very skilled. The key will be for the Oilers to play with the puck in the Panthers’ zone and when Florida takes penalties — they lead the league in penalties taken at 69 (4.1 per game) — Edmonton has to capitalize on the man-advantage.
The Oilers may, in fact, welcome the physicality. No team that has Sam Bennett or Matthew Tkachuk will completely avoid stepping over the line. Carter Verhaeghe ranks fourth in penalties taken this postseason, and Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola, and Aaron Ekblad all have six each, most of which are minors. The Oilers will get some calls. When all is said and done, cashing in on power play opportunities could be the difference in the series.
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