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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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The Florida Panthers held an optional practice at Baptist Health Iceplex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Sunday. The Edmonton Oilers held a full practice at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla.

Evan Bouchard believes his team can do more to keep the Panthers away from the blue paint.

"We have to do a better job boxing them out early when we can," the Oilers defenceman said. "Getting to them early, that’s the biggest thing."

Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk set an effective screen on the Dmitry Kulikov goal in Game 2. There was some contact with Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner on the play.

"He’s fighting for his ice just like they are," Bouchard said. "He’s got to keep doing that and we gotta do a better job for him in front ... When they are there it’s a matter of getting them out of there or fronting the puck and don’t let it get to the net."

Kris Knoblauch is willing to cut his team some slack. The Oilers coach pointed out that his players are doing a good job getting to Florida's net even though the Panthers do a good job boxing out.

"It’s almost impossible to keep them away from the net," Knoblauch said. "You’re going to find ways to get there."

Sam Bennett scored after bumping into Skinner in Game 1. The Oilers challenged the call, but the officials ruled that Bennett was tripped into Skinner by defenceman Brett Kulak.

"A lot of times there’s nothing you can do if he gets pushed," said Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad. "Just like Corey Perry, he’s extremely good at getting there and being between the d-man and a goalie so there’s not much you can do. So, if you get pushed you get pushed. It is what it is. Those guys have a knack for it."

Knoblauch, who had no regrets about the failed Game 1 challenge which led to a Panthers power-play goal, said his team must maintain faith in the officials.

"You just hopefully trust the referees that they can uphold the standard on what’s goaltender interference, what should be allowed and what shouldn’t," the second-year bench boss said. "We control what we can control. We’re not here to change how we’re doing things because that’d be difficult to do this time of year."

Bennett was whistled for goalie interference in Game 2. He blamed Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm for pushing him and Skinner for kicking out his heel. Skinner stayed down for a moment, but remained in the game.

Despite taking a penalty, Bennett will likely be undeterred as the Stanley Cup Final shifts south for Game 3 on Monday night. The 6-foot-1, 193-pound centre is a net-front force. It's a big reason why he leads the playoffs with 13 goals in 19 games.

"He just has great hockey instincts, so he knows where to go to create a little bit," observed veteran Panthers winger Brad Marchand. "It’s so tight in front of the net that some guys just have a knack for finding that space, where to go and where to be at the right times. It’s tough to stand there and just battle the whole time, but he seems to know when to go in at the right time to create an opportunity for himself. And then when he gets there he’s so strong on his stick that he’s able to out battle guys and find pucks and put them in with his touch."

 

Oilers searching for solutions to their Bennett problem: 'He's playing really well'

Sam Bennett leads the playoffs with 13 goals and has three in two games against Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers are trying to figure out ways to stop Bennett from getting to the net, but note that it's almost impossible to stop Florida from getting there on every play.

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Connor McDavid and Bennett were minor hockey teammates while growing up in the Toronto area.

"He’s always played with an edge, ever since he was a little guy," the Oilers centre said. "He’s playing well, scoring goals. Nothing we haven’t seen before, so we’ve got to figure him out ... He’s not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere."

McDavid made Bennett pay for Friday's penalty. The playoff scoring leader (31 points in 18 games) made a couple of incredible moves around Panthers centre Aleksander Barkov and Ekblad to set up Leon Draisaitl for a power-play goal.

"He’s got multiple options, so that’s the biggest challenge," said Ekblad. "You’re trying to block a shot, you’re trying to block a low pass, a backdoor pass, and a walk-on-water toe-drag. So, yeah, McJesus."

Oilers winger Connor Brown, who played with McDavid during their time together in the OHL with the Erie Otters, pointed out that he's seen that type of play from No. 97 many times before. But the stage and quality of competition made this "McJesus" moment really pop.

"It’s one of the sickest plays I’ve seen live," said Oilers defenceman John Klingberg, who is a veteran of 644 regular-season games and 80 more in the playoffs. "He’s been doing it for so many years, but it's just a [time] when we needed a goal on a power play and probably [against] their best two players as well. It’s impressive."

McDavid was asked how he would explain what it takes to pull off that type of move to a young hockey player.

"A lot goes into that," the Oilers captain said before pausing to consider his next words. "I don't know. Yeah, I don't know how to answer that."

Seated beside McDavid at the podium, Draisaitl chimed in.

"You can’t learn that," he said to laughs. "I’ll answer it for him.”

 

'One of the sickest plays I've seen live': Oilers marvel at McDavid's assist to Draisaitl

John Klingberg calls Connor McDavid's dazzling assist on Leon Draisaitl's power play goal in Game 2 'one of the sickest plays' he's seen live. McDavid struggled to provide an answer on how kids can learn to do that, prompting Draisaitl to jump in and say 'you can't learn that.'

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Barkov, who just won his third Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward, has been on the ice for six of Edmonton's eight goals in the series, including four at even strength.

Florida's top line, which also features Selke Trophy nominee Sam Reinhart, has yet to hit the scoresheet in the series.

"Certainly, we would like to be on the on the board a little bit more, but that's not something that keeps us up at night," Reinhart insisted. "We're trying to win hockey games as a group, and that's where our focus is."

The Panthers scored five goals to win Game 2 in overtime to even the series.

"We've always been fortunate enough to have the depth to pull our team along," Reinhart continued. "We've always used that to our advantage and this series has been no different."

Reinhart also pointed out that his line is playing mostly against McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard.

"You're talking about one of the toughest tests in hockey against some of these players," Reinhart added.

Barkov has been a minus player in four straight games with only two assists, both in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, in this stretch.

Paul Maurice believes his dynamic duo up front is playing "really good" despite the numbers. The Panthers coach points out that Barkov got unlucky when he blocked a Bouchard shot in Game 2 only to see the puck bounce right back to the Oilers defenceman, who quickly fired a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky, who was screened by Barkov and Reinhart.  

"[They] get the minus for that, but you look at the important times of the game that [they've] been on the ice, the critical times, both of them have been so good, so smart."

Reinhart is averaging just under 30 minutes of ice time per game in the series while Barkov is at 28:37.

And it's not like they're not getting chances. Reinhart is second to Marchand on the team with nine shots on net. He even had a breakaway in overtime on Friday, but shot wide.

"At that point in the game, you're not expecting that much time and space," Reinhart said. "Certainly, would like to have ended it there but it's honestly not too hard to regroup from that. You trust we have enough to pull through ... You just have to move on. It's not my first mistake; it's not going to be the last one. So you just got to accept them."

 

'Not something that keeps us up': Reinhart shrugs off lack of offence

Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart have each been held off the scoresheet for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. Reinhart had a breakaway in overtime that he didn't capitalize on in Game 2, but he says he and his linemates aren't worried about the lack of production so far.

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Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed practice on Sunday, but Knoblauch thinks he will be available for Game 3.

"We’ll play it by ear," the coach said. "He’ll be a game-time decision."

Jeff Skinner, who was a healthy scratch in the first two games, skated in Nugent-Hopkins' spot on the top line.

Ekblad participated in Florida's optional practice and is suffering no ill effects after taking a Darnell Nurse shot off his hand in overtime on Friday.

"It’s just a routine blocked shot," he said. "Stick your hand out for it and try to get it knocked down, and get off the ice as quickly as possible, because when you get that stinger you can’t really grip for a second, but all good now."

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Oilers lines at Sunday's practice:

Skinner - McDavid - Perry
Kane - Draisaitl - Kapanen
Frederic - Henrique - Brown
Podkolzin - Janmark – Arvidsson

Nurse - Bouchard
Ekholm - Klingberg
Kulak – Walman

Skinner
Pickard

 

Knoblauch tweaks d-pairs for Game 3: 'Everybody is confident playing with everybody'

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch rolled out some new-look d-pairings at practice ahead of Game 3 against the Florida Panthers, but says the team is "always making adjustments" to find the best look for the club. For their part, Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse say they're confident playing with anyone.