Skinner, Oilers bounce back against Panthers in Cup Final rematch

Two nights ago in Tampa Bay, the Edmonton Oilers got off to a hot start before taking their collective foot off the gas pedal and eventually losing a close one in overtime. Saturday night in Sunrise, against a familiar foe in the Florida Panthers, we almost saw a similar story play out, but a bounce-back performance from Stuart Skinner and Edmonton’s offence saw the Oilers reverse their fortunes with a much-needed 6-3 victory.

This win feels a little more meaningful than most. It’s not just because of their opponent — the very club that has defeated Edmonton in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, in this very rink. (You can call it a revenge game if you want, but no regular-season win is going to soothe those wounds.) It’s the way in which they won — with a 35-save performance from Skinner, a hot start on offence and a strong closing statement — and the timing of it, too.

Saturday’s victory marks Edmonton’s first regulation win since Oct. 28. It also sees them close out a gruelling 12-day, seven-game U.S. road trip on a happier note after riding a three-game skid into South Florida, returning home one game above .500 at a pretty pivotal point in the season. The quarter mark of the campaign tends to be the time teams take stock of where they are, and while there are plenty of questions remaining about these Oilers, Saturday’s measuring-stick game might just offer up some optimism.

“I thought our guys were really focused and did the little things that we needed to do,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch post-game.

Any sustainable optimism starts with Skinner, whose poor performance through the first two months of the season has once again put him at the centre of Edmonton’s woes. While Skinner didn’t exactly steal the show despite his impressive save total, he did hold strong in the third period despite a mid-game lull during which the Panthers clawed back from a 4-1 deficit to make it a one-goal game by the end of the second.

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It was the goalie at the other end of the ice that struggled most, with Sergei Bobrovsky’s night ending about seven minutes into the second period after giving up four goals on 17 shots, starting with a doozy just 25 seconds into the game on a bad angle and ending with another bad-angle shot he should’ve had. (Panthers backup Daniil Tarasov was the best goalie on the night, allowing zero goals on 12 shots.)

Skinner’s ability to shake off a scrappy goal in the first frame, then quickly rebuild his confidence in the third and stand tall to backstop the Oilers to victory, was notable. Whether or not he can build on this will be a major storyline to watch as the Oilers return home.

“He played really good tonight, especially in the third period,” Knoblauch said of Skinner. “We needed him, and he rose to the occasion.”

Roslovic’s strong November continues with hot start

He won’t earn any style points for it, but Jack Roslovic’s game-opening goal was the perfect example of why it never hurts to fire the puck towards the net early on — you never know what might hit. And 25 seconds into the game, as Roslovic spun off the boards in Florida’s zone and unleashed a seeing-eye shot, he hit the perfect spot between Bobrovsky’s left pad and the goal post to give Edmonton an early 1-0 lead.

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About seven minutes later, the forward was already on hat-trick watch after giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead with a goal that boasted both style and substance. While he didn’t get a third on the night, Roslovic’s hot start brought the perfect boost to the Oilers Saturday night. It also continued what’s been a quietly great month for him. Eight of Roslovic’s nine goals on the season have been scored in November, with five coming on this road trip.

Blue line shines

Both of Roslovic’s goals Saturday night were assisted by Evan Bouchard, who also pitched in on Vasily Podkolzin’s second-period beauty for a three-point evening. Fellow defenceman Mattias Ekholm also brought plenty of offence from the blue line with a goal and two helpers of his own. He played a crucial role in launching both Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie out of the zone to capitalize on Florida’s empty net twice in 27 seconds to secure the much-needed victory.

Knoblauch heaped praise on the duo post-game, highlighting what he called a “splendid” performance overall for the d-men.

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Bouchard called Saturday’s win “a good game all around.”

“They pushed, we pushed back,” he told Sportsnet’s Gene Principe post-game. “We never took our foot off the gas, which was good.”

No love lost between Cup Final foes

Considering the history between these back-to-back Stanley Cup Final foes, it should surprise absolutely no one that things got off to a rough start in Florida — literally. Less than nine minutes into the game, with the score sitting at 2-1 favouring Edmonton, a scuffle broke out in front of Skinner’s crease following a stoppage in play. The melee started with Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson giving Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe a healthy shove, and escalated quickly when Florida’s A.J. Greer pulled off a very UFC-like double-leg takedown of Trent Frederic.

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While certainly entertaining, officials made it clear the maneuver was not appreciated, and broke up the battle before Frederic could make his own feelings about it known. Both players were issued two-minute unsportsmanlike penalties, along with 10-minute misconducts. And it’s worth wondering if Greer should expect a call from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his part.

That wasn’t the last of the bad blood brewing in Florida. The game had a feisty tone overall, with things heating up again in the final minutes — and again, with Greer playing a central role — while the Oilers’ newest enforcer got involved, too. Connor Clattenburg became a fan favourite even before he stepped on the ice for his NHL debut Saturday night, thanks to his 26 penalty minutes earned with the Bakersfield Condors last weekend, and his interview afterwards.

The Oilers called him up for the matchup in hopes of injecting a little sandpaper into the lineup and, with limited options due to cap constraints, he was the perfect choice. Clattenburg’s night started with a traditional solo lap and ended with a two-minute roughing call for a very fitting official welcome-to-the-league moment.

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