In Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final with their season on the line, the Oilers defeated Florida 8-1, putting on a scoring clinic.
When the Rangers faced off against the Panthers last round, New York failed to score more than four goals in a single game, leading to their downfall.
While the Rangers are a better overall team compared to the Oilers, Edmonton just possesses more offensive firepower and they were finally able to breakthrough on Saturday night.
Yes, the Panthers still hold a commanding 3-1 lead over the Oilers and will most likely win the Stanley Cup, but this kind of performance shows that Florida is a little bit vulnerable.
It also goes to show that if the Rangers’ offense was able to reach its highest potential, we could have had a completely different series on our hands in the Eastern Conference Final.
New York’s power play wasn’t clicking at the capacity it was during the regular season. It was their five-on-five play though that really hindered them against the Panthers as they struggled to generate high quality scoring chances and maintain consistent possession time.
Florida was doing an excellent job slowing down Edmonton’s offense and basically shutting them down up until Game 4, so this was probably just a fluky performance from the Panthers.
However, for Ranger fans watching this performance, it’s hard to imagine what could have been if they were able to crack Florida’s defense.
