Oilers and Panthers meet after being on opposite ends of comebacks
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers -- who had differing roles in massive comebacks Saturday on the East Coast -- will now head west to face each other on Monday night.
Edmonton trailed the New York Rangers 3-0 in the third period before prevailing 4-3 in regulation on Saturday. Meanwhile, later that night, Florida led 3-0 in the first period and 4-1 in the third before losing 5-4 in overtime to the visiting St. Louis Blues.
That concluded Florida's brief two-game pit stop at home, but now the Panthers will start a five-game road trip that begins with Monday's game at Edmonton.
"We made mistakes that are not usual for us," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said. "We have to remember the mistakes and forget about the loss."
Gudas is coming off a monster game against the Blues. He scored one goal and had game highs in hits (five) and blocks (four).
Although he has two goals and four assists this season, Gudas is more known as the enforcer on a team that includes offensive-minded defensemen such as Brandon Montour (19 points) and Gustav Forsling (15 points).
Aaron Ekblad has just eight points, but he missed 11 games earlier this season due to injury.
The other key member of the defense is 35-year-old Marc Staal, who is in his 16th NHL season and has 49 career goals and 166 assists.
On offense, the Panthers' leading goal-scorer is Carter Verhaeghe, who has 12. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in assists (18) and points (27).
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov (18 points), who scored a career-high 39 goals last season, missed the Blues game due to a non-COVID illness. He didn't travel with the team to Alberta for Monday's game in Edmonton and Tuesday's game in Calgary.
In goal, 34-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky began this season as the starter. But he has slumped with a 4-5-1 record and a 3.62 goals-against average.
Former backup goalie Spencer Knight, 21, has started six of Florida's past nine games. Knight, who was Florida's first-round pick in 2019, has played just 47 NHL games, including 40 starts. But he has better numbers than Bobrovsky this season, including a 6-3-2 record and a 2.63 GAA.
As for the Oilers, they are not totally thrilled with how they played against the Rangers.
"It was a big character win," said Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, who scored what became the game-winning goal with 2:02 left. "But we can't be going down 3-0 every game. ... It's too exhausting on players."
As expected, the Oilers' top two scorers are Connor McDavid (team-high 16 goals, team-high-tying 20 assists) and Draisaitl (12 goals, team-high-tying 20 assists).
Scoring depth for Edmonton comes primarily from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (22 points) and Zach Hyman (19).
The Oilers made it to the Western Conference finals last season, their best finish since 2005-06.
After the season, the Oilers signed goalie Jack Campbell away from Toronto. Campbell, 30, got a five-year, $25 million contract. The former first-round pick is 7-5-0 with a 4.04 GAA.
Stuart Skinner, Edmonton's third-round pick in 2017, is the backup goalie, going 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA.
--Field Level Media
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bank of Canada says financial system is stable, but risks remain
The Bank of Canada says the Canadian financial system is stable, but risks remain due to debt servicing costs among households and businesses and stretched valuations of financial assets.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Court to hear about search for remains as Winnipeg murder trial enters second day
A courtroom in Winnipeg is expected to hear testimony today about the search for the remains of the four victims of Jeremy Skibicki.