The Edmonton Oilers were unable to take what would have been a massive 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers, as they dropped Game 2 by a 5-4 overtime final in what was yet another thrilling game. Both of these first two games being decided in overtime shows how evenly matched these two teams are, and should make for some more thrilling games ahead to close this thing out.
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While the Oilers have gotten off to a much better start in this Cup Final than they did a year ago, they are still capable of more than what we’ve seen through these first two games. They’ve had a few passengers in the early going of this series who will need to be much better if they hope to win it all. Here are four in particular that need to be better.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
There was arguably no Oiler who was better in the Western Conference Final than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The 32-year-old played some of the best hockey we’ve seen from him throughout his lengthy career, putting up two goals and nine points through five games versus the Dallas Stars. So far, that play has not carried over into the Cup Final.
Nugent-Hopkins has been quiet through these first two games, failing to put up a single point while mustering five shots on goal. Aside from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he is expected to be a main driver on offence for this team, especially with Zach Hyman out of the lineup. He’s going to need to be much better moving forward.
Connor Brown
Though not expected to produce at the level of Nugent-Hopkins, Connor Brown has proven throughout this run that he can score big goals and produce offence at key times. The numbers show just that, as he’s registered five goals and eight points through 16 playoff outings.
Though Brown has by no means played poorly through the first two games of this series, he has yet to muster up a single point. Playing against a loaded Panthers roster, the Oilers need everybody to be at their absolute best, and we haven’t yet seen that from the 31-year-old winger.
Evander Kane
Expecting the world from Evander Kane may be unfair, as he is truly still trying to get back into the feel of games, having missed the entire regular season. Like Brown, the 33-year-old has by no means been bad in this series. In fact, he was even able to score the…
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