The Sunshine State shines again! Twice in a row. So, did the franchise cement itself in hockey history as the team that embodies the renaissance? Absolutely! But then again, as much as the sun is shining down on Miami, there is another side to this coin, the curious case of the Stanley Cup runner-ups, twice in a row. For a team that polished off their opponents from the Western Conference in multiple playoff rounds, the Oilers clawed their way to the top, just to finish second, yet again.
Though we’re sure that there is an emotional overload on both sides, winning or losing, the important voices that matter now have a lot to think about, and words may just not be enough, not at this very moment, but those words matter a great deal. A visibly sweaty Connor McDavid took his place in the spotlight to answer the barrage of questions. Phrased differently, but all the same, ‘What went wrong?’
If you were an Oilers fan who watched the post-game presser, you would relate to how painful it was to watch McDavid crumble to the question: “I lost to a very good team. Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, and they’re a heck of a team, you know? Stanley Cup back-to-back champions for a reason.” A classic Connor McDavid response, giving credit where it’s due. The Panthers weren’t just the better side today. In fact, they have been operating with a motto, and a darn good one at that. “They tilted the rink, they were able to kind of stay on top of us all over the place. Um, never really able to generate any momentum up the ice. You know we kept trying the same thing over and over again.. just banging our heads against the wall.”
If the Oilers still have it in them, the zeal to flip the script, they don’t need to look too far for the answer. A page or two from the Panthers playbook should do the deed: Stop being predictable. In case you didn’t notice, the Oilers were operating like a well-oiled machine, one that never deviated, never attempted to catch the opposition off-guard. The Oilers’ downfall was undoubtedly their strategic redundancy. Even the Draisaitl-McDavid magic pair-up couldn’t break the monotony and the Panthers cashed in on the same.
This is a developing story.. Stay tuned..
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