Edmonton has committed a few more errors than Florida so far in this series, and those have come back to bite the Oilers – most notably in the second period of Thursday’s 4-3 defeat where the Panthers pounced on a few giveaways and misreads to score three goals in 6:19 and take a 4-1 lead.
“At this point of the year, it’s just little things,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “That can be the difference-maker in games, and they’ve found ways to do more of those little things that can push you over the top in all three games. I think Game 1 we played well and controlled most of the game. I thought the same thing last night, but at the end of the day, we’re down 3-0. So like Ekky said, there’s not a whole lot to say other than we’re focusing on one at a time and we get tomorrow and then move on,”
Despite the situation, the Oilers still have plenty of optimism knowing the right result is within reach if they can reduce their mistakes and continue to pressure the Cats as they did in Games 1 & 3.
“We’re disappointed that we’re in this situation. It is what it is, but we’ve got a lot to be optimistic about,” Knoblauch said. “We’ve gone on some quite astonishing rolls during the regular season. Obviously, it’s a little more difficult now with playing in the playoffs against Florida in the Stanley Cup Final, but I’m optimistic about the way we’ve played so far in this series.”
“I think what we talk about all the time is staying patient and trusting that we don’t need to force anything,” Nugent-Hopkins added. “And eventually, we’ll find a way to break through. That’s always our mindset. Of course there are going to be little things that happen here and there. It’s 60 minutes of hockey, that always happens. But it’s just finding ways to stick with it and just trust that we will break through at some point.”
