Instant Reaction +22.0: Oilers get rolled over in Game 6 as Panthers win second consecutive Stanley Cup

As was the case in nearly all of Edmonton’s losses, they couldn’t gain any traction after allowing the opening goal. They nearly made it to the first intermission only down one, but Bouchard turned it over in the offensive zone in the final minute, and Connor McDavid covered the wrong Panther, allowing Matthew Tkachuk to rip it past a screened Skinner for the 2-0 lead.

The Oilers had a few chances in the second period, but were unable to beat Sergei Bobrovsky to cut the lead in half. Late in the second period, the Panthers scored the dagger as they had a long shift in the Oilers’ end. Carter Verhaeghe took a harmless shot from the blue line, Skinner misplayed it, and the rebound fell to Aleksander Barkov, who made a quick pass to Reinhart for the tap-in.

Edmonton pulled their netminder with seven minutes to play and the Panthers added a couple more goals as insurance, with Reinhart burying a hat-trick goal to put the game out of reach. He scored another empty net goal before Vasily Podkolzin scored Edmonton’s lone goal of the game.

Takeaways…

Even though the Oilers were down 3-0 in last season’s Stanley Cup Final, it always felt like it was going to be a matter of time before they figured out Sergei Bobrovsky, as they dominated the majority of the seven games. This year, the Panthers smothered the Oilers; it never felt as if Edmonton were in it, and they were lucky to even win two games.

The Oilers deserved to be in the Stanley Cup Final, easily defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. If they had played any other team in the Eastern Conference, they probably would have won. If Zach Hyman doesn’t get injured in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, they have a much better shot at winning. But that’s all ifs, and “ifs” aren’t going to get it done in the Stanley Cup Final

Simply put, there needs to be massive changes this off-season. The depth was fantastic in the first three series, but disappeared in the Finals. In turn, the Panthers were easily able to shut down both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The defence needs some tweaking, they need a legitimate top-six winger, they can’t get players like Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner (who was the Oilers’ best player in this game). Stuart Skinner wasn’t to blame for this game, albeit that third goal was 100% his fault, but they need a better goalie.

Easier said than done, though. The Oilers need to re-sign Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, and seven players have a no-move clause in their contracts, including Adam Henrique, Arvidsson, and Nurse. That’s a problem.

It’ll be a fascinating off-season because the Oilers can’t run it back, but for now, this stings, it really does.