Later in the game, a Panther player goes through the crease simultaneously with the puck getting to Skinner. Bouchard goes directly over to him and gives him two shots. Penalty.

Neither penalty cost the team on the scoreboard. However, it took the Oilers to a shorthanded situation and also took one of their best players off the ice. There was no need for this, and it happened a lot during periods one and two. The Oilers lacked composure in many key situations in the first two periods and it eventually led to plays like this one.

Watch the lack of composure on this play by the Oilers. Kapanen chases the puck carrier up to the blueline and when he crosses to the middle, he fails to take the late defenceman. Then we have Kane and Draisaitl both race to take the puck carrier in the middle of the ice, leaving an easy flank pass and a massive lane through the middle of the ice. Tap in goal against.

I understand the natural desire to even the score with the Florida Panthers when they do stuff that could be considered borderline. However, that is not going to stop them from doing it and it is only going to hurt your play against them.

The Panthers want this type of game. The Oilers shouldn’t be bothered with it. The Panthers were called for six power plays against. The Oilers had only four. The officials gave the Oilers the chance to get even…on the scoreboard. They scored only once while giving up a shorthanded goal. For forty minutes, I thought the Oilers played exactly how the Panthers wanted them to play. When the Oilers decided to re-focus in the third period, likely because they were down 4-3, they dominated play.

The Long Change

Through the first two games, the Oilers have noticeably struggled with the long change during regulation play, but interestingly, not in overtime. In fact, during both overtime periods, their line changes have been sharp and effective.

What’s causing this discrepancy? It largely comes down to the Panthers’ playing style. Like many teams, Florida becomes more cautious in overtime, allowing Edmonton smoother line changes. But in regulation, the Panthers apply relentless pressure. They battle fiercely for every puck, aggressively contesting zone exits and entries, and this relentless approach creates serious challenges for the Oilers, especially during the second period when their bench is farthest away.

Each time Edmonton fails to clear the puck or successfully enter the zone, their players remain trapped on the ice longer, draining energy and leading to costly mistakes. Take this clip as an example: the Oilers had three clear chances, each with ample space and time, to move the puck out of their zone, but failed each attempt. This resulted in over one minute of sustained offensive pressure against Edmonton’s fourth line, which in turn reduced ice time for their skilled players and handed the momentum directly to Florida’s top offensive talent.

Simply put, the Oilers must address their puck management and efficiency during the long change, or risk continued struggles against energetic, relentless opponents like the Panthers.

Here is the second example. This is just not a very smart play by Mattias Janmark. After having already played 30 seconds in their zone, Janmark is able to exit. Instead of pushing the puck deep into the corner, allowing John Klingberg (who still had not changed) to make it to the bench. Instead, he decided to make a drop pass that was so obvious to Seth Jones that he almost looked like he was the intended recipient. The Panthers immediately turn the puck up the ice, and it is a 4v3 against the Oilers. This shift lasted more than two minutes for the line and for Klingberg.

Here is another small example from a very heady player, Mattias Ekholm. Just get the puck deep. Allow the change to happen for your team. Make sure of it. Instead, it is deflected, and the Panthers are immediately on the attack.

Finally, the failure of the Oilers to execute plays to avoid these long shifts in their own zone caught up with them. In this case, Connor McDavid and Corey Perry got caught. The puck gets out and Nugent-Hopkins is in a battle. McDavid stops skating and Perry is caught in no man’s land. The Panthers immediately seize on this situation and head back into the zone on the attack. Moments later, it leads to a goal against.

People have asked me what the solution is to this problem. For me, it is not that hard. Make the simple plays. Assume Florida is going to challenge everything. Get the puck out and get the puck in. Live to fight another day. Be patient and wait for your chances in better circumstances. There is nothing really tactical here. It just amounts to bearing down in these moments when there are 30 more feet of ice before you can change.

Thoughts heading into Game 3…

The Nurse-Kulak pairing is a challenge. We highlighted this before the series and after Game 1. The Florida forecheck is causing them issues. To make things more challenging, Darnell Nurse has the worst numbers of all of the Oilers defencemen in this series and has played the most minutes. This means that when he is on the ice, the group he is with is getting hemmed in their zone. The Panthers now get to go home and have last change. There is no question that Maurice will hunt this pairing with his best players. Given the number of minutes this pairing plays, it will cause the Oilers issues.

I also thought it was notable that the forwards who didn’t experience the Stanley Cup last year were the ones who struggled mightily. Podkolzin, Arvidsson and Kapanen all had rough nights. The fourth line was pushed around fairly good in Game 2 and had its ice time cut. Not as much as the Florida fourth line, but that line was effective in its limited minutes. Could there be a change in Florida? Time will tell.

That’s it for the Game 2 review. The series shifts to Florida, where the Oilers are going to face a new challenge in not having the last change. Also, the ice that did not look very good in the Carolina series. We will see you all back here on Tuesday morning with the results and how it all went down in Game 3. Have a great weekend.