Connor McDavid has a better idea of how the Dallas Stars felt last weekend after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Edmonton Oilers captain was the first to admit his team didn’t play its best in a series-clinching 2-1 win over the Stars, a Game 6 in which the Oilers were outshot 34-10.
The shot differential wasn’t quite the same on Saturday, but the script was similar. The Oilers outshot the Florida Panthers 32-17, and lost 3-0 in Sunrise, Fla.
“Maybe it was the hockey gods getting us back for that Game 6 where we probably didn’t deserve to win,” McDavid said. “Tonight, maybe we deserved at least one goal or maybe two goals and we don’t find a way to get them.”
The task on the off-day for the Oilers will be devising a plan to put a few pucks past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was easily the best player on the ice in Game 1.
Breakaway saves on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique in the first loomed large.
“This group will stick with it, bounce back, that’s what we take a lot of pride in doing,” McDavid said. “We’ll gear up for a big one on Monday.”
Catch Game 2 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+