VANCOUVER, CANADA - MAY 10: Leon Draisaitl #29 of the Edmonton Oilers looks on during the third period in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on May 10, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)
After defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3, the Florida Panthers took a decisive 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Three key points can be drawn from Thursday’s events.
Sergei Bobrovsky is still the one who makes the difference.
For the first time since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, when the New York Rangers defeated the Boston Red Sox 5–4, Bobrovsky allowed three or more goals. But on Thursday, he was outstanding in goal once more for the Panthers, and it’s probably the biggest reason they’re just one victory away from winning the Cup rather than having a 2-1 lead.
At practice on Thursday, one important member of the Edmonton Oilers’ roster was absent.
After the team’s 5-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 on Wednesday night, star forward Leon Draisaitl was not in the lineup. Though he did not provide any details on the injury, coach Kris Knoblauch informed reporters on Thursday that Dmitry Draisaitl was “day-to-day” and that there will be an update on Friday…
Draisaitl left the opener of the second-round series for an undisclosed reason in the second period but returned for the third.
“Just some cramping,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters after the game. “Between cramping and some equipment issues, that’s why his ice time was down.”
