The Edmonton Oilers had a tough Game 1 against the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. They were shutout, losing 3-0, falling into an early 1-0 hole. Despite the outcome, the team is still confident they can get the job done and hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Underdogs entering the series, the Game 1 loss by the Edmonton Oilers wasn’t a major surprise in the eyes of many people. But in some regards, they actually outplayed the Panthers, as they out-shot their opponents 32-18.
That is one of the reasons star Connor McDavid is still expressing confidence. Finding positives in a shutout loss isn’t normally easy, but the Oilers have to like some of what they did despite being stonewalled by Sergei Bobrovsky.
“I know not many people gave us a chance in this series, and I think we showed tonight that we can play with them,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said, via NHL.com. “That’s a confidence booster for this group, but we know that our best can play with anybody.”
Despite being down 0-1, the Edmonton Oilers should feel good about how they played in the series opener. If they can repeat the aggressiveness and lopsided offensive chances throughout the series, it is hard to imagine them not breaking through at some point.
Veteran forward Zach Hyman also expressed confidence in his team figuring out a way to get the puck past Bobrovsky. With vast postseason experience, he knows the team cannot get frustrated, as bounces will go their way eventually.
“Hockey is a funny game, the key is to not get frustrated. You just continue to play and play your game that’s why it’s a seven-game series and you go out there and you execute. I liked our game, we had our looks, tonight we didn’t score of them and I’m pretty confident we’re capable of scoring,” Hyman said.
The Edmonton Oilers were one of the most prolific scoring teams in the NHL during the regular season. They scored 292 goals, which was good for fourth place. Only one shutout was recorded against them all regular season, putting into perspective just how rare of a feat the Panthers pulled off in Game 1.
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