‘There’s definitely life’: Rave review of Edmonton and of Oilers from major critic

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Playoff Game Day 23, Oilers vs Panthers, Stanley Cup Final Game 5

This in from hockey commentator P.K. Subban, former star d-man of the Montreal Canadiens, his rave review of both Edmonton and of the Oilers in Game 4, one that has Subban thinking the Oilers might well extend this series to six or seven games.

On the Pat McAfee show, Subban talked about how his great time in Edmonton won him over. “Edmonton did a phenomenal job those three, four days, we were there, the food, the fans. They deserved that win, and I found myself … actually cheering for the Oilers. I wanted to see them win.”

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Subban was part of the entourage of Oilers legend Mark Messier and was astonished by the treatment the TNT hockey announcer received: “Mark Messier is an absolute, like, he’s a god… I don’t even know if that justifies what he is in Edmonton and in the game of hockey. But I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life. The way that he was treated — the way that we were treated because of him — was spectacular. So hats off to the Messiah. He’s the man, five cups in Edmonton, more Mark Messier jerseys than probably McDavid jerseys in Edmonton. Mess is the man.”

As for the Oilers, Subban said, they were riding on the roar of the amazing Edmonton hockey crowd. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a building that loud. The energy in the building was contagious They fed off of it.”

Subban said he expects Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovksky to bounce back from letting in five goals before he was pulled in the second period, but he’s got some questions about the Panthers because of Edmonton’s depth players rising up, McDavid taking off, and Edmonton’s ability to play the game fast.

“If I’m the Florida Panthers what I’d be nervous about is how many (Oilers) players got in on the action in that game. I mean all of Edmonton’s depth were involved… Holloway, Janmark, Connor Brown was phenomenal on the penalty kill. All their depth players chipped in with goals, all their depth players got involved. So they got a very, very confident team coming into Sunrise (Florida’s arena) and to play this game… They got to be they got to be little bit nervous about that because the Edmonton Oilers, from top to bottom right now, have their whole team going on.”

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As for McDavid, Subban said, “He’s just getting warmed up I feel like in this series…He’s got so many tricks in his bag you don’t know which one he’s going to use.”

The key for Florida is to find a way to bottle up Edmonton in its own end and not allow fast attacks up the middle of the ice, Subban said.

“You let Connor McDavid penetrate through the neutral zone, get the middle of the ice, forget about it!… You got to clog up the middle…Edmonton was just rolling on them. Edmonton, when the play with speed, that’s their game. They’re the faster team than Florida. They got to play fast. When they play fast, Florida can’t skate with them. When Florida can’t slow the game down and take away the middle of the ice, it’s all Edmonton.

“For Florida, they got to get on the body. The got to get their forecheck going. They have to make Edmonton play defence, keep them in their zone. For most of the series Edmonton had problem coming out of their zone. They have to attack those guys, the Cecis. They got to stay physical on Darnell Nurse, stay physical on Broberg, stay physical on Bouchard. You can’t allow those guys to break out easy out of their zone.”

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My take

1. Subban has been skeptical of Edmonton’s chances to win this year, mainly because he felt the team didn’t play strong enough defensively and was too reliant on McDavid. The emergence of depth players like Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Dylan Holloway has evidently changed his mind for now on the depth issue.

2. Subban was correct to doubt Edmonton’s defence, but Edmonton has had solid depth for some time. What it always needed was a coach who would put together a solid third line and commit to using it against the best opposition players, giving the McDavid and Draisaitl lines a break.

Coahc Kris Knoblauch has done that with the line of Adam Henrique, Brown and Janmark, a checking line that can hold its own against any NHL line.

3. I suspect Florida will try to get a top attacking line out against the Draisaitl line of Drai, Holloway and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. If that line can hold its own at even strength and not allow any goals against, I suspect the Oilers will win. For Draisaitl to get his game going, the key is for him to play smart slot defence, shut down Florida in that critical area, and attack off of Florida turnovers. If that line takes care of its own end, the offence will flow out of Florida giveaways.

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4. Subban is correct that Florida can’t handle Edmonton’s speed. The best way to handle Florida’s forecheck pressure is with aggressive break-out plays, the kind Edmonton employed so well in Game 4. Edmonton has to attack hard and fast up the ice, take it straight to Bobrovsky and unleash shots from the high or mid slot. Bobrovsky is brilliant moving side-to-side but is more league average when facing players charging in and firing off high slot shots.

5. Knoblauch refused to announce his line-up today. Florida coach Paul Maurice is injecting buzzsaw agitator Ryan Lomborg onto his fourth line. Expect Lomborg to do something violent.

6. As for Subban’s enthusiasm for Edmonton, it’s a welcome change. On Game Day, Edmonton’s downtown has now been transformed. It’s no longer a quiet place. It’s full of life and energy. For the city, as for the Oilers, the key is to build off that energy and see if downtown can be transformed into a lively place many more days of the year. That was always the plan with a downtown arena and district. It’s starting to work.

P.S. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports: “Pickard, Campbell, Desharnais, Carrick, Gagner and Kane all on the ice late after an optional Oilers morning skate. No confirmation from Kris Knoblauch, but this indicates the same lineup from Game 4 is likely tonight.”

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At the Cult of Hockey

McCURDY: Depth scoring finally comes alive

‘That was a blip’: NHL insider predicts Edmonton Oilers won’t face a leaky Florida Panthers in Game 5

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