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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.