G23+ Game Notes: Oilers look to make history in Game 5

The Edmonton Oilers will try to become the first team in NHL playoff history to win Game 5 on the road after facing a 3-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup final.

— Only three teams that trailed 3-0 in the Cup Final have managed to extend the series to six games. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (won series in seven), the 1945 Detroit Red Wings (lost in seven) and the 2012 New Jersey Devils (lost in six) all won Game 5 on home ice, and Adam Henrique was a rookie on the 2012 Devils team who managed to extend their series to six games. He could become the first player to play on two teams who forced a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in the Cup Final.

—  If Oilers fans only look at the big picture, coming back to win the Cup, it isn’t pretty. There have been 28 series where a team trailed 3-0 in the Final, and only one team won the Cup (1942 Maple Leafs). Instead of focusing on that today, you need to have a one-game focus like the players. There have been 38 series where a team trailed 3-1, and 17 times a team has managed to extend it to six games, including the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, which means 44.7% of the time, the team trailing 3-1 managed to force Game 6.

— Maybe it is because the Oilers trail three games to one, or maybe it is because the Stanley Cup is the main goal, but it is a bit surprising to me how little fanfare or press Connor McDavid has received for setting the NHL playoff record for most assists in a postseason. He picked up three assists in Game 4 and now has 32, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s record of 31 which he set in 1988. McDavid has at least one more game, and possibly three more, to add to his total. It is an amazing accomplishment.

— McDavid has also joined Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players with 38 points in a playoff year. Gretzky produced 47, 43, 40 and 38 points while Lemieux had 44 in 1991. Only 25 players have reached 30 points in one playoff season, and McDavid is one of only seven to do it multiple times. (Players in red are active.)

Oiler fans have been quite blessed to have witnessed five of the seven players reach 30+ points multiple times.

— Evan Bouchard needs one point to reach 30, and if he does the Oilers will be the fourth team in NHL history, and first since 1991, with three 30-point players in one playoff year. The first three were the 1985 Edmonton Oilers (Wayne Gretzky had 47 points, Paul Coffey 37 and Jari Kurri 31), the 1988 Oilers (Gretzky 43, Mark Messier 34 and Kurri 31) and the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins (Mario Lemieux 44, Mark Recchi 34 and Kevin Stevens 33). Bouchard would also become only the fourth defenseman in NHL history to reach the 30-point plateau.

— Mattias Janmark is the eighth Oiler to score two shorthanded goals in a playoff year. Todd Marchant (1997) and Wayne Gretzky (1983) hold the Oilers record with three, while Mark Messier (1983, 1986 and 1987), Jari Kurri (1983 and 1987), Paul Coffey (1983), Gretzky (1985), Kevin Lowe (1987) and Esa Tikkanen (1990) scored two.

— Zach Hyman picked up his 20th point of the playoffs in Game 4 and became the fifth Oiler this year with 20+ points. It is the fourth time in franchise history Edmonton has had five players with 20+ points in one postseason. The 1985 Oilers had six (Gretzky 47, Coffey 37, Kurri 31, Glenn Anderson 26, Messier 25 and Charlie Huddy 20), while the 1988 Oilers (Gretzky 43, Messier 34, Kurri 31, Tikkanen 27 and Anderson 25) and the 1990 Oilers (Messier 31, Craig Simpson 31, Kurri 25, Tikkanen 24 and Anderson 22) each had five.

— This series has been much closer than the 3-1 lead suggests. It likely should be tied 2-2. Here’s a look at the individual stats from the series.

Edmonton has 10 players with a goal. The Panthers have nine.

Each team has two players with multiple goals. Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway for Edmonton and Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko for Florida.

Edmonton’s top-six forwards have combined for 17 points while the Panthers’ top-six has 16 points.

Florida’s bottom-six forwards have combined for nine points while the Oilers have eight. Each forward group had 25 points.

Edmonton’s defence has 3-6-9 while Florida has 2-4-6.

Bobrovsky has allowed nine goals on 102 shots, while Stuart Skinner has allowed 10 goals on 101 shots. Bobrovsky has a shutout but was also pulled in Game 4.

McDavid and Sam Bennett have each drawn three penalties.

Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Kevin Stenlund have drawn two penalties, while Bouchard, Hyman, Janmark and Connor Brown have also drawn two.

Florida’s top two hitters (Sam Bennett 21, Kyle Okposo 15) have combined for 36 hits. Edmonton’s top-two hitters (Adam Henrique and Dylan Holloway 18 each) have also combined for 36 hits.

— Here are some team stats.

Florida has scored three goals in the first period, five in the second and four in the third. Edmonton has scored four goals in the first period, four in the second and four in the third.

The Oilers’ PK is 92.3% allowing one goal on 13 kills. The Panthers’ PK is 93.6% allowing one goal on 16 kills. The Oilers have scored one shorthanded goal, so their net PK is actually 100%.

Both teams PP have only scored one goal in the series.

Each team has seven players with at least one “first” assist.

Each team has one player with 10+ shots at 5×5. McDavid has 12 and Tarasenko has 10.

— The one area Florida has had a decisive advantage has been in the faceoff dot. They are 53.2% while the Oilers are 46.8%. Florida has won 132 draws while Edmonton has won 116.

— Draisaitl has taken 83 faceoffs (41-42 for 49.4%), Henrique 46 (20-26 for 43.5%), McDavid 44 (14-30 for 31.8%), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (13-11 for 54.2%) and Ryan McLeod (12-9 for 57.1%).

Barkov has taken 63 (35-28 for 55.6%), Lundell 46 (25-21, for 54.4%), Kevin Stenlund 41 (23-18 for 56.1%), Bennett 41 (23-18 for 56.1%) and Sam Reinhart 32 (12-20 for 37.5%).

The only good news for Edmonton is that Henrique was 5-15 in the first two games, but rebounded and went 15-11 the last two games.