They’re focusing on what got them to this point: the Stanley Cup Final.
The Edmonton Oilers’ head coach talked about it on Friday at media day in Florida as did top-liners and role players.
Warren Foegele — echoing words heard earlier this week and now in Sunrise, Fla., that the Florida Panthers are billed as an aggressive team, perhaps more physical than the other three teams the Oilers faced before getting to the NHL championship — summed it up in one sentence: “For us, it’s using our speed, you know, making plays and being hard to being hard in the (defensive) zone.”
“Just playing our game,” he told reporters at Amerant Bank Arena, site of Games 1 and 2 of the Cup Final, which starts Saturday (6 p.m.)
“Everyone keeps talking about what they’re going to do, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get here from worrying about what other teams do.”
Oilers forward Evander Kane also seemingly spoke from the same speaking notes Foegele may or may not have used, emphasizing the importance of doing “the same things that have made you successful all season long.”
“One of the things I really like about our group is everybody is of that same attitude,” Kane said.
“I don’t see anybody getting out of character. I don’t see anybody doing something differently than they haven’t done all year. I think that’s just a maturity with our group.”
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch speaks on June 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla., during Media Day for the Stanley Cup Finals The Oilers take on the Florida Panthers in Game 1 on Saturday in Sunrise. (Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)Head coach Kris Knoblauch said while there are “little tweaks” he and his staff can make to the Oilers’ game plan in facing the Panthers, he’s wary of making “too many changes.”
He, too, wants to stick to a script that’s worked for three rounds of the NHL playoffs so far.
“As a coach, you have to be careful how many changes you make to a team, because more changes you make, the more things that are going on their heads and more analyzing they’re doing. It’s about the players and them performing and them playing at ease, so if we’re changing our systems and what we want to do and focusing so much on Florida, we’re handicapping our players.”
And Knoblauch believes the Oilers’ experiences in these playoffs inform them on what to expect from the aggressive Panthers.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Florida being an aggressive, hard hitting, tight checking team. We’re, we’re prepared for that,” he told media, referencing Edmonton’s first two playoff series, against the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks.
“We’re expecting them to finish our checks as much as possible and slow us down, but we’ll hopefully be able to make some plays and get around that.
Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl answers questions on June 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla., during Media Day for the Stanley Cup Finals. (Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)Vignettes from Media Day
- Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers using past failures to build towards making the Cup Final:
“Every season you don’t win the Stanley Cup, you’re going home, trying to dig in more, wanting more. Last year (losing to the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2) was very disappointing, and I think we took big, big steps in that department when it comes to defending and taking care of the moment and taking care of the clock, game management, those types of things. We just continue to learn every year, and I think now it’s at a time where we’re at a point where it’s really good.”
- Draisaitl on the nine-year journey he and teammate Connor McDavid have taken in their careers to get to this point. Draisaitl was the Oilers’ first-round pick, third overall, in 2014, while McDavid was taken first overall by the team the next year:
“It took us a while to get here. With that being said, we were young kids coming in and the weight of the world on our shoulders, it felt like, and everyone expected us to do everything. We weren’t ready to understand what it really takes to win when you’re 19, 20, 21 years old, that’s just a fact. Sometimes it takes a little longer, and I think over the last couple of years, we’ve improved in those scenarios and just gotten better and still continuing to learn.”
- Zach Hyman on having an intimate vantage point on what drives McDavid and Draisaitl “to be the best version of themselves so they can win”:
“They have a ton of, I think, mutual respect for each other and and they talk a lot about about how to be successful, whether it’s on the power play, whether they play together. There’s always communication, and they’re best buddies, too. I think when you play that long together and there’s that mutual respect for each other, you’re going to be really good friends. It’s been a pleasure to be able to join them and play with them and and witness it firsthand.”