‘We still haven’t seen our best’: Oilers know it’s time to Lay It On The Line in Game 6 against Panthers

It’s do-or-die time for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6.

Seven or so hours from now, they will know their fate. Will they have a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Mug on home ice Friday night, or will they have to watch the Florida Panthers win it on home ice for the second straight year?

That’s up to them to decide, but the Oilers have yet to bring their A game to this series.

“If we wanted to win, we would have had to win this game here on the road anyway,” said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl Tuesday morning. “For us, it’s about trying to get to our game a little bit quicker. I think playing better.

“I think we still haven’t seen our best, and now it’ll be a great time to show it.

The Oilers will do so with another new look lineup. Kasperi Kapanen and John Klingberg have been thrust back into the lineup, as Viktor Arvidsson and Troy Stecher slide out. Edmonton missed the speed Kapanen brought, especially on the forecheck, and Klingberg will look for a reset after struggling early in this series.

But the biggest chance for the Oilers is between the pipes with the team going back to Stuart Skinner.

The back-and-forth flip-flopping between Skinner and Calvin Pickard continues, but this decision is one Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch thinks gives the team the best chance to win.

“We feel that those two would give us the best opportunity to win,” said Knoblauch of Klingberg and Skinner entering the lineup. “Stuart has been in a lot of high-pressure games. He’s played really well.

“You look at the amount of elimination games he’s played — I think there’s six last year, and every single game that he played in were really solid, if not spectacular performances. So the game, season is on the line. We have a lot of confidence in him.”

Knoblauch’s right in that Skinner has been tremendous in elimination games. In the seven he’s played in his career, he’s posted a 5-2 record, a .910 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average. In Stanley Cup Final elimination, those numbers got even better, as from Games 4 through 7 last year he posted a 3-1 record, a .935 save percentage and a 1.76 goals against average.

That’s what the Oilers are going to need from him Tuesday night, but they’re also going to need a better start to the game after getting outscored 11-4 by the Panthers in first periods this series.

“I think our first shift in the last couple of games have actually been really good,” said Draisaitl. “It’s just the couple of shifts after that, I think we just let off a little bit.

“Then it’s just the fact that maybe play with the lead sometimes, right? When you’re constantly chasing the game, there comes a time in the game where you have to take chances. That’s just the way it is. Your top guys take chances, and then you’re leaking a little bit the other way. I think playing with the lead and just getting off to a better start in general, not being down to nothing after the first period will go a long way.”

Edmonton’s struggled to play with the lead against the Panthers, holding onto a lead for just under 34 minutes, while the Panthers have had 200 minutes of ice-time leading in this series. That, too, will be a key for the Oilers.

Game 6 goes Tuesday night at 6:00 PM MT.

It’s time to Lay It On The Line.