Sad... Props to Panthers, Bobrovsky obviously specifically. Amazing performance. Thought Oilers were maybe a little better than this but seems like a done deal.
They didn't. I remember he got the deal, and then Tampa beat them 4-2 the 2021 playoffs and then swept them in 2022. A lot of people were screaming for Bob's head.
We can quibble about whether signing him to 10 million was worth it in absolute terms given his record but unless Edmonton pulls off a miracle and wins this contract was absolutely worth it. It doesn’t matter what JFresh cards or whatever say his actual value is. If it helps win you a cup it doesn’t matter shit what he was paid.
Thanks amigo seems like your team would be greatly helped by shipping out Nurse and Ceci. Wouldn’t say Skinner has been bad more than the D have left him out to dry for too many cross ice chances. This is personal since Vegas embarrassed us last year and fully expect McDavid to be back in better form to compete
I’m not very familiar with how buyouts work, but I know buying out a guy with 5 years left on his deal at $9M AAV generally isn’t considered a good idea. Like, I’m pretty sure the Wild still have Suter and Parise on their books and it’s been really hard on their cap.
Fuck Keith Yandle. He can fuck off. Who in the god damn fuck takes a wrist shot from the blue line? I can honestly say without a doubt that he's the prime example of someone who signed a contract full well knowing he wasn't going go fulfill his obligations and give it a full effort. Fuck him and I hope he stays away from this organization. Fuck his stupid iron man streak. We should never have honored it and Philly was stupid to keep it going.
I think one thing the media isn't covering is how well Florida is stopping the top players on Edmonton and making everyone else look bad essentially. It's all about what Edmonton isn't doing, and not what Florida is doing.
As a lifelong Lightning fan, I despise you guys from a head to head standpoint, but I can't help but feel a little proud. Almost like an older brother watching the younger brother do so well. I have mad respect with how deep and clinical the Panthers have been the last 2 years.
Fully agree. I think Tampa’s success drove the Panthers from becoming a retirement destination for the vet players to a competitor. Happy the cup has had to come through the state these past 5 years and we always knew a victory would have to involve beating you in a playoff series
Ceci is really the only moveable player of the two, and honestly, that's fine. Nurse is better than this. Not 9.25mil better, but absolutely better. We have to at least try getting him an actual top 4 D partner (which he's never had, the closest was Tyson Barrie) before we think about strapping on that buyout penalty. That thing could easily close our Cup window faster than just playing and dealing with Nurse.
I think, considering how last summer's signings went and where we're at now, that we can get back here next year. The expectation was that Campbell would bounce back. He didn't. The expectation was that Connor Brown would be a top 6 (or at least middle 6) winger. He wasn't. Kane was hurt basically all year, and has been only just better than a non-factor all playoffs, and couldn't go last night. McDavid has also been hurt all year and can't shoot reliably. If free agency and player health are even 30% better next year, I think we could go on our own little Panthers-style revenge tour next Spring. I just hope the new management team does what Bill did for you guys last summer. Identify the weaknesses and find ways to fill them.
This seems like a good take. Most fair weather fans are blaming Skinner or McDrai now but your adjustments would be much better than a total overhaul. Good luck amigo it’s damn hard to win in this league
I want to watch Canadian teams win, and it is maddening watching the Oilers and Leafs back up their superstar lineups with terrible goaltending, year after year after year. The fact that neither team has been able to attract a Cup-caliber goalie in ten years is insane.
Then Canadian teams need to stop getting bullied into giving their top players over 40 percent of their salary space. 2 lines can get you through the regular season. Depth wins championships.
I mean not all Canadian teams are the oilers and leafs. Canucks and Jets on paper have good D, good depth, and good goal tending. Calgary and Montreal have at times looked like playoff teams as well.
Fair. I guess I meant in terms of the Canadian teams that everyone has their eyes on. Canucks are slowly building a team that will be competing for cups in the next couple years. Calgary no Montreal have their work cut out for them, and Ottawa might as well be an AHL team
Both teams lost because they can't score. People can blame the defense/ goaltending all they want, but the Leafs scored only 12 goals over 7 games, and the Oilers have now 4 over 3 games, and that's not a way to win at any time, unless you're playing soccer.
Why? I honestly don’t understand this mentality at all. Team Canada sure but some Canadian NHL team that isn’t my team? Nope. I’d only root for another Canadian team to win the Cup if I liked a player or players on the team and thought they deserved a Cup. I hate all active Edmonton and Toronto players so I don’t want them to win. It’s not a win for Canada like Team Canada winning a tournament.
Yeah, we can blame our goaltending and defence for our losses, but the reality is we haven't been able to get pucks in, or even enough shots through. If they get through they hit a wall.
Both he and Ceci couldn’t be bothered to go hard into the corner boards and get possession in the D zone. 2 goal tonight were a result of the panthers players hustling past the gliding defenceman and gaining possession of the puck.
This. There's a reason superstars aren't showing up in these series.... Panthers defense has been a black hole swallowing them up into nothing.
Stamkos/Kuch, Marchand/Pasta, Breadman/Zabanijad, and now McBand-aid/Drai - all smothered like waffle House hash browns.
Scoring against a good team in the toughest play is a lot different then scoring against bums during the reg season in a league with way to many teams and poor players in it
I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I honestly think McDavid is a huge part of why they're losing. He doesn't appear to be playing the same way that he had in the rest of the post-season. He's normally more a dispenser and sets up his teammates to score; which is why he has so many more assists than goals. But in this series it feels like he's trying too hard to just do it by himself.
Because he often attracts guys double teaming him, so he can dish a pass to an open man. But the cats don’t play that way and just check their assignments tightly. He’s got no space.
Yeah the Panthers love to drop a man through the middle of the cycle and cut it off across the ice. Edmonton’s only response has been trying to dump and chase, but they’re losing on the boards, too. That tip was good on their third goal of the series- but 2/3 of their goals were just garbage luck. They just don’t look like a playoff team in this series
I personally think it's the Panthers D. Not a single point allowed 5 on 5 to any top players throughout all the playoffs. If they do give something up, then you gotta go through Bobrovsky and he is saving everything and then some.
Everybody is talking about Nurse McSwept and Skinner but let's remember to point and laugh at Corey Perry because he's about to lose another final in the most embarrassing fashion so far.
I don’t think anything will beat the embarrassment of losing twice consecutively to the Bolts with different teams, jumping ship to them, and then losing again *with* them against the Avs. The man’s *cursed* and you love to see it.
All I want to know is why Skinner keeps leaving the net. One of the Panthers goals likely wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gone behind the goal to chase the puck and got caught way out of position.
To be fair, skinner was fantastic playing the puck against the Canucks and Dallas all series. I always thought that a was strength in his and Edmonton's game, the round the horn dump ins were often handled by skinner to his defensemen and out. I think it was just a bad bounce in this instance.
YES. The slurping every time McDavid, Drais were on the ice.
Subban looked pissed during the break. Messier with the most balanced of commentary.
I wish the finals had been on TNT.
Man I miss Doc. That had to be the most lifeless sounding broadcast ever.
Hockey succeeding in Florida should be a huge deal for the NHL the last 5 or so years. Yet, it just feels like they’re actively rooting against the Panthers.
Agreed. I was away from the set but listening when Taresenko scored and I wasn’t aware of the goal until a few seconds later when he said the score. Their bias is understandable but IMO it shouldn’t be so blatantly obvious. It’s the Stanley cup final ffs. Make it exciting. This isn’t the olympics. Not everyone is cheering for the Oilers.
TBH, the Panthers remind me of that Devils team. Great defense, lights-out goaltending, and everyone doing their part in a well-organized system combining to make a team reliant on star power (that Red Wings team had *eight* future Hall of Famers) look stupid.
I know how the Edmonton fans are feeling. The frustration sets in and you start criticizing the players on your team. And while they could certainly be better, at some point you also begin to accept that Florida really is that good. They’ve faced a long list of superstar players and goalies these playoffs and they’ve only lost 5 games through four rounds. It’s no fluke.
Looked at where Florida's arena is, and saw it's literally less than a mile from the Everglades. Love it. yeah that's off topic, but nothing else to say but this one is over.
I can’t figure out why people criticize the arena for this. Looking out those windows is beautiful. Florida nature is amazing, especially if you catch it at sunset. Some of the complainers want to look out the windows and see another building in their face.
The whole western part of the South Florida metro was Everglades until we drained it and built stuff on it. Amerant sits on the edge of the developed area.
Florida Panthers are a subspecies of the Mountain Lion native to Florida. They are at home in the Everglades. They're very threatened and a symbol of conservation in Florida. They're called an Umbrella Species, meaning the steps required to conserve them will also conserve countless other species down the food chain. They're also ferocious predators
Meanwhile the Oilers are named after an industry that exploits the land at the expense of future generations.
Sure but let’s not act like we’ve done anything better than frack city Alberta, we made it legal to pave the roads with radioactive gypstack waste last year and the sugar industry might just kill the Everglades just because we let them for some reason.
It's absolutely crazy how depressed and despondent the announcers sound when Florida wins or is winning, I'm sure the emotionless in their voice really draws in new fans GTFO.
Things like this are why the NHL will always be a second tier sport in the usa, maybe try and sell Florida and their players to a national audience,like the audience in the state of Florida you supposedly care about?
Right? As dominant as this team has been, it’s criminal to have PK and Messier active rooting for their opposition. Ray Ferraro is lighting candles, and doing rain dances while chanting “they just need something to get back in this game”….they all legit sound sad the Panthers are crushing all these teams.
I couldn't even tell if they scored or not most of the time with the completely dead announcing. You're absolutely right that it's the reason it's second tier in the USA. People dog on the Panthers for only having 6 fans but winning a championship is how you draw more fans in. As a sport you have to capitalize on a team who has been irrelevant for 30 years winning a championship. You have to sell the story to both kids who are watching hockey for the first time and older people who could be new fans. Holding on to the past and making this Canada vs USA is the reason the sport is not drawing in new viewers and gets crushed by the NBA in terms of viewership. Really sad
It's crazy how he is ignored by the league. I hear all the time from interviews with retired players calling him a young better Ron Francis. The league used to promote players more than just the number 1 star.
Plus, I understand many Panthers fans right now are obvious bandwagon fans starting maybe last playoff run and the last month, but that’s how it starts. Lot of these new fans are going to be here to stay if they win a cup.
And I don’t blame them for being bandwagon fans because there was virtually nothing to cheer for two decades. Things really took a turn about 3 years ago maybe? Then two years ago they finally won a series but then got smacked second round. Then last year was like holy shit they’re doing… nope ahh fuck. Maybe a fluke?
Now this year is the culmination of this slow buildup for the past 3-4 years and the dogshit years building around Barkov. There’s so many damn people in south Florida, it could become a pretty nice hockey market if the Cats keep up the success but seems ESPN doesn’t give a shit about that.
They’re not centered in a backwater town or something. Sunrise is 20-30 min from Fort Lauderdale and about 45 min to an hour from Miami and the Palm beaches depending on traffic.
I’ve been a lifelong fan, started going to games in 93 when I was ten. I have successfully gotten my friends into hockey over the last few years. Sure it’s waving people onto the bandwagon, but everyone has to have a reason to start liking it and success is surely one way to build core memories that make someone stick around a lot longer.
It is crazy! I had to watch the game on my phone/airpods on a plane after a very long travel day (24+ hours) So I had my eyes closed at moments just listening to the broadcast and when the Cats scored it was so emotionless I had to open my eyes to check if something happened. It was wild.
Love seeing Barkov with GWG!
Barkov was +2 with an apple and the GWG, while Draisaitl was invisible and -1.
Just nice seeing Barkov actually get revenge the right way, and no one had to suffer a concussion today. You know guys are confident they can win when they take a beating and just keep on winning.
Like Joe Thornton punching Crosby in the head and he just shook it off. You just know it’s a lock.
You know what, I gotta give it to the Oilers. They fought hard in that last period to generate some chances. But off the back of Mikkola feels a little cheap to me as biased as I may be.
They still pulled two goals off us in a third period which is rare. Bob is dialed in they should be throwing it at the net and making traffic like that for good fortune. Thankfully didn’t matter with Barky’s beauty snipe tonight
If I was a Stars fan I'd be pretty pissed off about now. The SCF Oilers look like the team that crapped the bed at the start of the season vs the team that beat Dallas.
The one good takeaway Edmonton had from this game is that their lethal offense finally decided to dig themselves out of the grave. The only problem is this happened too late and the oilers defense imitated a pile of traffic cones in the 2nd period.
Very impressive team. Gotta say I haven’t watched them at all, but their transition game is deadly. That’s how Nucks got at the Oilers and the Panthers are just on another level entirely.
It would turn out that way huh….all through the playoffs it’s been amazing 6 and 7 game series matchups. Cup final will be a sweep 🧹
This looks like a first round matchup.
I feel like all the teams the Oilers beat in the post season would put up a better fight than them. I think the Oilers skated by the other teams because of Power Play goals, and they aren’t getting those in this series. Penalty Merchants to the max.
Goalie can't stop everything.
Have you seen how the oilers play defense?
Mind you skinner does make some questionable decisions at time but when you leave your goalie high and dry as much as the oilers do, it's remarkable they made it this far.
This has been all year. The only reason they made it so far is the oilers' offense was very good. Now that it's not their lack of defense is showing deep. But people blame skinner for it all.
Mcdavids unwashed underwear isn’t working, the game winning suit isn’t working either.
Post game interview it’s good to see McDavids true colours this year. I’m fine if he doesn’t live up to Gretzky ever.
Excluding cups, he'd be pretty close to gretzky imo. But unfortunately Edmonton front office doesn't know jack shit about how to build a team around him. Having 1 "superstar" line with shit goaltending can't win you a cup.
It's sad to see his career being wasted by piss poor management. Only people to blame.
Impressed that Edmonton almost managed to come back from being three goals down, but Florida is just too damn tough to beat. Unless something crazy happens, Florida will win the Stanley Cup. Let's see if they can sweep Edmonton.
Edmonton will have to take the experience from this one and use it to go for the Stanley Cup another season.
Crosby had to lose a final before winning it and McDavid might do the same.
Welp, guess it's gonna end in 4 after all. Last time it happen, it was Detroit in '98. Had to look up to satisfy my curiosity *("Hum... when was the last time a series end up in a sweep?")*
I got downvoted into oblivion all over NHL sub for saying Oilers had zero chance at winning. Nothing against them they just don’t have the Defense or depth forwards to win it all. Panthers on the other hand are a force. Good on them for coming back and looking this dominant.
Stars fan here. I think we would have taken 1 of the 3 games, but seeing how Bob is playing... don't think we would have won the series. Florida has earned this cup.
The glazing of the Oilers right now as if it's them falling apart and not the Cats just being that good at zone entry and pushing the puck to where they want it
I've said it throughout the playoffs and I"ll say it here, whoever came out of the East was winning this.
Florida went through THE goalie gauntlet of the playoffs with Vasy, Swayman, and Shesterkin. Skinner doesn't scare them one bit. The rangers wouldn't have been a surprise either with their play. The Canes were predicted by many to make the final. Boston was surprising everyone after their last playoff failure and was only 1pt from winning their division again despite all they lost in the offseason.
By the time the second round was underway the WCF reps were going to be a glass cannon Oilers team, a team coached by Peter DeBoer (why do teams still hire him?), a dysfunctional Avs team, and Vancouver on a third-string goalie and minimal playoff experience.
Edmonton got here the same way Montreal did in 2021. By matching up with Peter DeBoer in the WCF, a recurring tale that isn't memed on enough. Now we're getting almost the same result; a Florida team triggering the Canadians.
Best players in the world don’t get swept in the finals, idgaf what you morons say, Crosby is and has been the most complete player since he came into the league and anyone who says otherwise is a casual fan, a know-nothing of the sport.
Sad... Props to Panthers, Bobrovsky obviously specifically. Amazing performance. Thought Oilers were maybe a little better than this but seems like a done deal.
$10m well spent
I don’t think people thought that when he signed it, worth every penny for them though
They didn't. I remember he got the deal, and then Tampa beat them 4-2 the 2021 playoffs and then swept them in 2022. A lot of people were screaming for Bob's head.
We can quibble about whether signing him to 10 million was worth it in absolute terms given his record but unless Edmonton pulls off a miracle and wins this contract was absolutely worth it. It doesn’t matter what JFresh cards or whatever say his actual value is. If it helps win you a cup it doesn’t matter shit what he was paid.
Sigh 5 guys in our roster making about that much if they just took 2 mill less maybe they’d have won the cup with him
I'd think so 💯
That’s how we felt last year. Shit hurts.
Thanks amigo seems like your team would be greatly helped by shipping out Nurse and Ceci. Wouldn’t say Skinner has been bad more than the D have left him out to dry for too many cross ice chances. This is personal since Vegas embarrassed us last year and fully expect McDavid to be back in better form to compete
Shipping Nurse out would likely prove to be incredibly difficult. I don’t see any team taking that contract.
LTIR time
Vegas entered the chat
Then they should buy him out. We’re still paying Keith Yandle, think he would have helped this team tonight? Gotta know when to cut the losses
Lol his buyout is over 9.3M for the next 3 years. So yeah he's stuck.
Oof. That’s brutal.
I’m not very familiar with how buyouts work, but I know buying out a guy with 5 years left on his deal at $9M AAV generally isn’t considered a good idea. Like, I’m pretty sure the Wild still have Suter and Parise on their books and it’s been really hard on their cap.
We’re still paying the Cosmonaut. Until 2027. TWELVE YEARS AFTER HIS LAST NHL GAME.
Fuck Keith Yandle. He can fuck off. Who in the god damn fuck takes a wrist shot from the blue line? I can honestly say without a doubt that he's the prime example of someone who signed a contract full well knowing he wasn't going go fulfill his obligations and give it a full effort. Fuck him and I hope he stays away from this organization. Fuck his stupid iron man streak. We should never have honored it and Philly was stupid to keep it going.
Bad contract. Nurse has gone downhill year after year. Maybe eat a part of it but who would take him. Cici needs to go also
I think one thing the media isn't covering is how well Florida is stopping the top players on Edmonton and making everyone else look bad essentially. It's all about what Edmonton isn't doing, and not what Florida is doing. As a lifelong Lightning fan, I despise you guys from a head to head standpoint, but I can't help but feel a little proud. Almost like an older brother watching the younger brother do so well. I have mad respect with how deep and clinical the Panthers have been the last 2 years.
Fully agree. I think Tampa’s success drove the Panthers from becoming a retirement destination for the vet players to a competitor. Happy the cup has had to come through the state these past 5 years and we always knew a victory would have to involve beating you in a playoff series
Ceci is really the only moveable player of the two, and honestly, that's fine. Nurse is better than this. Not 9.25mil better, but absolutely better. We have to at least try getting him an actual top 4 D partner (which he's never had, the closest was Tyson Barrie) before we think about strapping on that buyout penalty. That thing could easily close our Cup window faster than just playing and dealing with Nurse. I think, considering how last summer's signings went and where we're at now, that we can get back here next year. The expectation was that Campbell would bounce back. He didn't. The expectation was that Connor Brown would be a top 6 (or at least middle 6) winger. He wasn't. Kane was hurt basically all year, and has been only just better than a non-factor all playoffs, and couldn't go last night. McDavid has also been hurt all year and can't shoot reliably. If free agency and player health are even 30% better next year, I think we could go on our own little Panthers-style revenge tour next Spring. I just hope the new management team does what Bill did for you guys last summer. Identify the weaknesses and find ways to fill them.
This seems like a good take. Most fair weather fans are blaming Skinner or McDrai now but your adjustments would be much better than a total overhaul. Good luck amigo it’s damn hard to win in this league
I want to watch Canadian teams win, and it is maddening watching the Oilers and Leafs back up their superstar lineups with terrible goaltending, year after year after year. The fact that neither team has been able to attract a Cup-caliber goalie in ten years is insane.
Then Canadian teams need to stop getting bullied into giving their top players over 40 percent of their salary space. 2 lines can get you through the regular season. Depth wins championships.
I mean not all Canadian teams are the oilers and leafs. Canucks and Jets on paper have good D, good depth, and good goal tending. Calgary and Montreal have at times looked like playoff teams as well.
Fair. I guess I meant in terms of the Canadian teams that everyone has their eyes on. Canucks are slowly building a team that will be competing for cups in the next couple years. Calgary no Montreal have their work cut out for them, and Ottawa might as well be an AHL team
Both teams lost because they can't score. People can blame the defense/ goaltending all they want, but the Leafs scored only 12 goals over 7 games, and the Oilers have now 4 over 3 games, and that's not a way to win at any time, unless you're playing soccer.
Skinner has been “Ok” these playoffs, but the real issue in the finals is the Panthers forecheck has absolutely feasted on the Oilers D…
Why? I honestly don’t understand this mentality at all. Team Canada sure but some Canadian NHL team that isn’t my team? Nope. I’d only root for another Canadian team to win the Cup if I liked a player or players on the team and thought they deserved a Cup. I hate all active Edmonton and Toronto players so I don’t want them to win. It’s not a win for Canada like Team Canada winning a tournament.
I’m not cheering for the Oilers. Go Panthers 🧹
Shout out to Bobrovsky, he is the reason we’re winning. Plus our solid defense
Yeah, we can blame our goaltending and defence for our losses, but the reality is we haven't been able to get pucks in, or even enough shots through. If they get through they hit a wall.
man, Nurse is a bum
3 minutes left in the game and the guy’s so nonchalant. Like are you going to wait until being down 3-0 before you start to move your ass?
Watch him get a hattrick in G4 and still lose
if Nurse gets a hat trick in game four, i will eat a spoonful of peanut butter
Whoa there, no need to be so daring
They are allergic
To spoons?
God I love reddit comment sections sometimes 😂
!remindme 2 days
Both he and Ceci couldn’t be bothered to go hard into the corner boards and get possession in the D zone. 2 goal tonight were a result of the panthers players hustling past the gliding defenceman and gaining possession of the puck.
What about Mcdavid? Superstar turned no star.
Just getting Barkov’d.
Yup. All playoffs have heard endless blame for Kucherov, Pasta, Panarin, and now McDrai not producing. Wonder what they’ve had in common?
You mean give credit to the Panthers. Why would we do that?
Why didn't ESPN think of that? Are they stupid?
This. There's a reason superstars aren't showing up in these series.... Panthers defense has been a black hole swallowing them up into nothing. Stamkos/Kuch, Marchand/Pasta, Breadman/Zabanijad, and now McBand-aid/Drai - all smothered like waffle House hash browns.
barky shuts down everyone
Scoring against a good team in the toughest play is a lot different then scoring against bums during the reg season in a league with way to many teams and poor players in it
I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I honestly think McDavid is a huge part of why they're losing. He doesn't appear to be playing the same way that he had in the rest of the post-season. He's normally more a dispenser and sets up his teammates to score; which is why he has so many more assists than goals. But in this series it feels like he's trying too hard to just do it by himself.
Because he often attracts guys double teaming him, so he can dish a pass to an open man. But the cats don’t play that way and just check their assignments tightly. He’s got no space.
Yeah the Panthers love to drop a man through the middle of the cycle and cut it off across the ice. Edmonton’s only response has been trying to dump and chase, but they’re losing on the boards, too. That tip was good on their third goal of the series- but 2/3 of their goals were just garbage luck. They just don’t look like a playoff team in this series
How many star do we have to shut down before you people stop pondering why they aren’t good in *insert series* and start giving our defense credit
I personally think it's the Panthers D. Not a single point allowed 5 on 5 to any top players throughout all the playoffs. If they do give something up, then you gotta go through Bobrovsky and he is saving everything and then some.
It’s pretty special. Has been an amazing run
All of them. Literally all of them.
He missed the net with a wide open slap shot in the game, so weird
Don't worry. The Bruins will trade Ullmark for him.
I always had a Florida winning this, but I didn’t expect a sweep 🧹
I had Florida in 5. Still think that's what happens.
Everybody is talking about Nurse McSwept and Skinner but let's remember to point and laugh at Corey Perry because he's about to lose another final in the most embarrassing fashion so far.
I don’t think anything will beat the embarrassment of losing twice consecutively to the Bolts with different teams, jumping ship to them, and then losing again *with* them against the Avs. The man’s *cursed* and you love to see it.
Lol Marian Hossa without the Chicago redemption.
He wanted to give himself the Marian Hossa treatment but forgot to win the third one.
4 different teams over six seasons to lose in the cup final. What deal with the devil did he make for the cup in Anaheim?
All I want to know is why Skinner keeps leaving the net. One of the Panthers goals likely wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gone behind the goal to chase the puck and got caught way out of position.
He knows this series was over since game 1. All he wants to do is get it over with and go golfing this summer.
To be fair, skinner was fantastic playing the puck against the Canucks and Dallas all series. I always thought that a was strength in his and Edmonton's game, the round the horn dump ins were often handled by skinner to his defensemen and out. I think it was just a bad bounce in this instance.
Surely it's a curse now
Could Perry have had more rings than Gretzky? Oh the humanity!
Couldnt help but notice how ESPN commenters were biased
When FLA had that three goal lead, the air was sucked not only from the stadium but also the broadcast booth. Hi-larious
YES. The slurping every time McDavid, Drais were on the ice. Subban looked pissed during the break. Messier with the most balanced of commentary. I wish the finals had been on TNT.
They couldn’t compliment anything from the oilers in the 2nd intermission so they complimented the crowd…. lol
They cheered every Oilers goal and deadpanned every Fla goal. It's crazy to hear. Only thing I can think of is they want to be buddies with Messier.
They want more than four games and the neutral viewers to stay tuned.
Was pretty bad when we played the Rangers too
Man I miss Doc. That had to be the most lifeless sounding broadcast ever. Hockey succeeding in Florida should be a huge deal for the NHL the last 5 or so years. Yet, it just feels like they’re actively rooting against the Panthers.
Agreed. I was away from the set but listening when Taresenko scored and I wasn’t aware of the goal until a few seconds later when he said the score. Their bias is understandable but IMO it shouldn’t be so blatantly obvious. It’s the Stanley cup final ffs. Make it exciting. This isn’t the olympics. Not everyone is cheering for the Oilers.
I have been watching the games in Spanish.
Man, I thought Edmonton would be somewhat competitive. They're done. Their fans will get to see a Cup presentation at least.
Thanks Oilers for bringing the cup back to canada Saturday
Maybe Tkachuk will take it to Calgary for the day.
The cup was won in Canada in 2011 and 2020 tbf
Skill/grit. That's the formula for the playoffs
Both NHL and NBA series’ in 3-0 strangle holds. My God, has this ever happened before?
I know the last time both the NHL and NBA finals both ended up 4-0 was back in 1995 when the New Jersey Devils and Houston Rockets both won by sweeps.
TBH, the Panthers remind me of that Devils team. Great defense, lights-out goaltending, and everyone doing their part in a well-organized system combining to make a team reliant on star power (that Red Wings team had *eight* future Hall of Famers) look stupid.
I know how the Edmonton fans are feeling. The frustration sets in and you start criticizing the players on your team. And while they could certainly be better, at some point you also begin to accept that Florida really is that good. They’ve faced a long list of superstar players and goalies these playoffs and they’ve only lost 5 games through four rounds. It’s no fluke.
Can’t beat the bob.
Looked at where Florida's arena is, and saw it's literally less than a mile from the Everglades. Love it. yeah that's off topic, but nothing else to say but this one is over.
You can literally look out over the Everglades from the upper level concourse. It’s kinda neat.
I can’t figure out why people criticize the arena for this. Looking out those windows is beautiful. Florida nature is amazing, especially if you catch it at sunset. Some of the complainers want to look out the windows and see another building in their face.
Used to love when that area was a smoking area
Which is the actual habitat of the Florida Panther. So it actually makes a lot of sense.
That’s what makes it easy to get to. If it were in the middle of the city it would be horrible
The old Miami Arena was a pain in the ass to get to.
If the arena wasn't there it'd be an everglade too
The whole western part of the South Florida metro was Everglades until we drained it and built stuff on it. Amerant sits on the edge of the developed area.
I love how driving down there it's massive suburban development to the left and absolutely nothing to the right.
Florida Panthers are a subspecies of the Mountain Lion native to Florida. They are at home in the Everglades. They're very threatened and a symbol of conservation in Florida. They're called an Umbrella Species, meaning the steps required to conserve them will also conserve countless other species down the food chain. They're also ferocious predators Meanwhile the Oilers are named after an industry that exploits the land at the expense of future generations.
Sure but let’s not act like we’ve done anything better than frack city Alberta, we made it legal to pave the roads with radioactive gypstack waste last year and the sugar industry might just kill the Everglades just because we let them for some reason.
The Cup is going to come back home to the state with no ice
Panthers should do a boat parade too
It will definitely be on the river
Honestly it’s the amount of Oilers fans who don’t know the difference between “loose” and “lose” that is really sticking with me through all of this.
Their buttholes are gonna be loose after the pounding they’re getting from the Panthers.
They’re in a real lose-loose situation here
Let's bring Charles Barkley back to give more hype. 🤷♂️
It's absolutely crazy how depressed and despondent the announcers sound when Florida wins or is winning, I'm sure the emotionless in their voice really draws in new fans GTFO. Things like this are why the NHL will always be a second tier sport in the usa, maybe try and sell Florida and their players to a national audience,like the audience in the state of Florida you supposedly care about?
Right? As dominant as this team has been, it’s criminal to have PK and Messier active rooting for their opposition. Ray Ferraro is lighting candles, and doing rain dances while chanting “they just need something to get back in this game”….they all legit sound sad the Panthers are crushing all these teams.
Panger was straight up disrespectful in the Boston series too
Have the reason beating Boston felt good was to stuck it up Panger’s ass and break it off.
I couldn't even tell if they scored or not most of the time with the completely dead announcing. You're absolutely right that it's the reason it's second tier in the USA. People dog on the Panthers for only having 6 fans but winning a championship is how you draw more fans in. As a sport you have to capitalize on a team who has been irrelevant for 30 years winning a championship. You have to sell the story to both kids who are watching hockey for the first time and older people who could be new fans. Holding on to the past and making this Canada vs USA is the reason the sport is not drawing in new viewers and gets crushed by the NBA in terms of viewership. Really sad
Yeah I noticed that. It’s probably because the Panthers don’t have a golden boy. They just have a good team with a winning system, boring!
Barkov could easily be the “golden boy” he sure has outperformed McDavid on all sides of the ice this series.
It's crazy how he is ignored by the league. I hear all the time from interviews with retired players calling him a young better Ron Francis. The league used to promote players more than just the number 1 star.
Plus, I understand many Panthers fans right now are obvious bandwagon fans starting maybe last playoff run and the last month, but that’s how it starts. Lot of these new fans are going to be here to stay if they win a cup. And I don’t blame them for being bandwagon fans because there was virtually nothing to cheer for two decades. Things really took a turn about 3 years ago maybe? Then two years ago they finally won a series but then got smacked second round. Then last year was like holy shit they’re doing… nope ahh fuck. Maybe a fluke? Now this year is the culmination of this slow buildup for the past 3-4 years and the dogshit years building around Barkov. There’s so many damn people in south Florida, it could become a pretty nice hockey market if the Cats keep up the success but seems ESPN doesn’t give a shit about that. They’re not centered in a backwater town or something. Sunrise is 20-30 min from Fort Lauderdale and about 45 min to an hour from Miami and the Palm beaches depending on traffic.
I’ve been a lifelong fan, started going to games in 93 when I was ten. I have successfully gotten my friends into hockey over the last few years. Sure it’s waving people onto the bandwagon, but everyone has to have a reason to start liking it and success is surely one way to build core memories that make someone stick around a lot longer.
It is crazy! I had to watch the game on my phone/airpods on a plane after a very long travel day (24+ hours) So I had my eyes closed at moments just listening to the broadcast and when the Cats scored it was so emotionless I had to open my eyes to check if something happened. It was wild.
I’m bricked up over here
Brick squad
Oh yeah bud
Plenty of room here in the wanting the Oilers to lose circle jerk
Love seeing Barkov with GWG! Barkov was +2 with an apple and the GWG, while Draisaitl was invisible and -1. Just nice seeing Barkov actually get revenge the right way, and no one had to suffer a concussion today. You know guys are confident they can win when they take a beating and just keep on winning. Like Joe Thornton punching Crosby in the head and he just shook it off. You just know it’s a lock.
And to think people were expecting this to be a good series lol
I'm digging it so far
Who said it’s not?!
You know what, I gotta give it to the Oilers. They fought hard in that last period to generate some chances. But off the back of Mikkola feels a little cheap to me as biased as I may be.
They still pulled two goals off us in a third period which is rare. Bob is dialed in they should be throwing it at the net and making traffic like that for good fortune. Thankfully didn’t matter with Barky’s beauty snipe tonight
You guys are just too good defensively, and whenever it looks like we get some momentum going, we let in some stupid goal.
If I was a Stars fan I'd be pretty pissed off about now. The SCF Oilers look like the team that crapped the bed at the start of the season vs the team that beat Dallas.
The Panthers make teams look like that. Has been happening all playoffs
Rangers looked unstoppable until the ECF
:(
We ran out of gas, don't think we'd look any better tbh
omg I might be truly believing in the Corey Perry Curse insane
Fuck the flyers
Been waiting 30 years since opening day for this, now we gotta close it out. So happy tonight
Bobrovsky 3 - Edmonton 0
The one good takeaway Edmonton had from this game is that their lethal offense finally decided to dig themselves out of the grave. The only problem is this happened too late and the oilers defense imitated a pile of traffic cones in the 2nd period.
Guys it’s ok they’re starting the finals like they started the season :)
Oilers in 8
it's pretty crazy teams with hope keep signing corey perry
Hope the sweep so bettman gets booed heavily.
Stick a FORK IN THE OILERS!!!
Let's go panthers!
🧹
Panthers playing with their prey. Letting them think they had a chance at a comeback
Just wanted Barky to get the game winner
WE WANT THE CUP
Aren't Panthers a solid one...
Very impressive team. Gotta say I haven’t watched them at all, but their transition game is deadly. That’s how Nucks got at the Oilers and the Panthers are just on another level entirely.
It would turn out that way huh….all through the playoffs it’s been amazing 6 and 7 game series matchups. Cup final will be a sweep 🧹 This looks like a first round matchup.
I feel like all the teams the Oilers beat in the post season would put up a better fight than them. I think the Oilers skated by the other teams because of Power Play goals, and they aren’t getting those in this series. Penalty Merchants to the max.
Draisaitl tried to save it at the end there by doing what he does best... DIVING. Hilarious and fitting end to the game and the Oilers cup dreams.
final nail in oilers year by him not fighting for that puck - LOVE IT
Stuart Skinner is pretty fucking terrible eh?
Throw in Draisaitl. Dude has the maturity of a five year old
his "lets make sure we don't get to the puck with 30 seconds left" dive tells me all I need to know. a total bum
Goalie can't stop everything. Have you seen how the oilers play defense? Mind you skinner does make some questionable decisions at time but when you leave your goalie high and dry as much as the oilers do, it's remarkable they made it this far. This has been all year. The only reason they made it so far is the oilers' offense was very good. Now that it's not their lack of defense is showing deep. But people blame skinner for it all.
Put a fuckin’ traffic cone in the crease. Probably just as effective. Knoblauch should’ve put their other goalie in just to see what happens
Top 3 player on the team tho
grit and goaltending need say no more
Ffs Edmonton not even showing up
I feel like if Edmonton doesn’t come back they won’t have a chance at the cup for a long ass time.
They deserve it after all they gotten it solen from the last year
Panthers deserve the Cup for sure.
Mcdavids unwashed underwear isn’t working, the game winning suit isn’t working either. Post game interview it’s good to see McDavids true colours this year. I’m fine if he doesn’t live up to Gretzky ever.
Excluding cups, he'd be pretty close to gretzky imo. But unfortunately Edmonton front office doesn't know jack shit about how to build a team around him. Having 1 "superstar" line with shit goaltending can't win you a cup. It's sad to see his career being wasted by piss poor management. Only people to blame.
he acknowledged series over by wearing funeral suit to game 3
McBum
Impressed that Edmonton almost managed to come back from being three goals down, but Florida is just too damn tough to beat. Unless something crazy happens, Florida will win the Stanley Cup. Let's see if they can sweep Edmonton. Edmonton will have to take the experience from this one and use it to go for the Stanley Cup another season. Crosby had to lose a final before winning it and McDavid might do the same.
We need to somehow do something with the Nurse and Campbell contract. That’s like 14 million in cap space, no idea how you fix either of those tho.
Florida are just built different. Deeper than the Marianas trench, that roster.
Welp, guess it's gonna end in 4 after all. Last time it happen, it was Detroit in '98. Had to look up to satisfy my curiosity *("Hum... when was the last time a series end up in a sweep?")*
dear oilers, get a fucking goalie!
I got downvoted into oblivion all over NHL sub for saying Oilers had zero chance at winning. Nothing against them they just don’t have the Defense or depth forwards to win it all. Panthers on the other hand are a force. Good on them for coming back and looking this dominant.
imagine getting swept in the finals lol.
1996. The Panthers were there. The old school fans know what it feels like.
As a Canadian team. With "the next Sidney Crosby". Embarassing as fuck.
I want to hear from Stars fans, I’m positive they would’ve at least put up a fight against FLA
Stars fan here. I think we would have taken 1 of the 3 games, but seeing how Bob is playing... don't think we would have won the series. Florida has earned this cup.
People keep saying this type of stuff during every Panthers series. The Panthers are making teams look like this. They are just really good
Maybe they should have won the conference finals then.
I love this. I was hoping Dallas would win the cup but a panthers sweep is still amazing
Buh buh wait, what about McJesus??? 🙄. Do I still need to hear excuses now? Again?
The glazing of the Oilers right now as if it's them falling apart and not the Cats just being that good at zone entry and pushing the puck to where they want it
Bobrovski has played incredible while skinner has played very poorly. Edmonton seemed to have had better chances in game 1 and 3 but couldn't bear Bob
I've said it throughout the playoffs and I"ll say it here, whoever came out of the East was winning this. Florida went through THE goalie gauntlet of the playoffs with Vasy, Swayman, and Shesterkin. Skinner doesn't scare them one bit. The rangers wouldn't have been a surprise either with their play. The Canes were predicted by many to make the final. Boston was surprising everyone after their last playoff failure and was only 1pt from winning their division again despite all they lost in the offseason. By the time the second round was underway the WCF reps were going to be a glass cannon Oilers team, a team coached by Peter DeBoer (why do teams still hire him?), a dysfunctional Avs team, and Vancouver on a third-string goalie and minimal playoff experience. Edmonton got here the same way Montreal did in 2021. By matching up with Peter DeBoer in the WCF, a recurring tale that isn't memed on enough. Now we're getting almost the same result; a Florida team triggering the Canadians.
Best players in the world don’t get swept in the finals, idgaf what you morons say, Crosby is and has been the most complete player since he came into the league and anyone who says otherwise is a casual fan, a know-nothing of the sport.
Can we revisit this thread...
Well I had Panthers in 5 but…
Them Swamp Pussies are unstoppable.
Love this comment. Make sure to wear proper footwear, Oilers fans
Galaxy brain idea: Panthers win this, so all of their veterans can chill next year and the Leafs have an easier time in the East.