Stuart Skinner is clearly a glass-half-full kind of guy.
Despite his Edmonton Oilers falling down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final after a 4-3 loss Thursday, the goaltender still has faith in his squad.
“I’m not too sure what the stats are coming back (from being down 3-0), but if anyone can do it, it’s the Oil,” Skinner said post-game.
Maybe it’s best if Skinner doesn’t look at the stats.
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team in Stanley Cup Final history to come back to win after falling down 3-0.
The odds get even more daunting due to the fact that in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only four teams (including the 1942 Maple Leafs) have accomplished the monumental task.
The last team to pull off the 3-0 comeback was the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 of the 2014 post-season, when they rattled off four straight wins to beat the San Jose Sharks. Los Angeles would ride that high all the way to a Stanley Cup victory.
So, you’re saying there’s a chance?
The Oilers will certainly need more from their top players, including Skinner, if they are going to become the fifth NHL team to make history.
Skinner finished Game 3 with a 4.14 goals-against average and just a .826 save percentage after stopping 19 of the 23 shots he faced. He also mishandled the puck behind the net, which led directly to the Panthers’ second goal of the night.
However, even after a couple tough plays in the second period saw the Oilers fall down 4-1 heading into the third, Edmonton battled back to make it a one-goal game with just over five minutes remaining.
And Skinner thinks that’s something the team can build on as they try and mount the improbable comeback.
“I think the way that we finished this game too, also brings a strong belief in this group, the way that we battle back,” Skinner said. “If we play like that for 60 minutes, we’ll give ourselves a really good chance to win games. I think that gives you a lot of belief.
“We’ve got nothing but hope in this room.”
You can watch the Oilers try and make the first step in their comeback in Game 4 on Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.