Oilers confident they can solve Bobrovsky in Game 2 of Cup Final

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Edmonton Oilers claim they are well-schooled on the piece of hockey literature known as “The Book on Bob.”

Now it’s time to practice what they preach, beginning with Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).

The scouting report on Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky: shoot high. Indeed, according to research done by NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley, 22 of the 38 goals he’s allowed in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been scored above the pads; eight more just beneath his blocker and catching glove. That means he’s been beaten only eight times along the ice in 18 postseason games, just 21 percent of the goals he’s allowed.

The moral of this story: Go upstairs, and you’re more likely to have success.

In as much as the Oilers carried the play in Game 1 on Saturday, they did not follow through on exploiting what the statistics say is Bobrovsky’s Achilles heel. They outshot the Panthers 32-18, but too many of Edmonton’s Grade-A chances resulted in low shots, all of which the acrobatic goalie turned aside in a 3-0 victory to give Florida a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

If the Oilers hope to solve Bobrovsky, who's developed a cult following known as “Bob Lovers” here in South Florida, they’ll have to heed the advice of their goalie coach Dustin Schwartz in their pre-scout of the Panthers and begin targeting the upper portions of the net if they hope to even the series.

“’Schwartzy’ definitely gave us some stuff,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said, adding that Bobrovsky is “so good low.”

In the end, Edmonton ended up learning that lesson the hard way.

In the first period alone, quick, accurate seam passes from the back end found both Nugent-Hopkins and fellow forward Adam Henrique behind the Panthers defense and in alone on Bobrovsky. On both occasions, the Oilers player in question tried a move that resulted in a low shot. On both occasions, the attempt was thwarted.

“Obviously if I could do it again, I’m going to try and get that up over his pad,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Even then, he’s really quick side to side. When he gets moving side to side, you want to get it high, that’s your best chance. He’s an athletic goalie, he’s going to take up most of the bottom of the net.

“We had a few looks like that where you think you’ve got him, but he doesn’t quit on it. If I go back or have a little more time on that play, I probably do it a little bit different, in the moment. You have what the scouting report is, but you’re also reading the play and trying to make the best play that you can.”

Forward Leon Draisaitl, who had four shots on goal Saturday, dismissed the notion that Bobrovsky was in the heads of the Oilers shooters.

“I thought we played a good game, we created a lot of good looks for ourselves, especially in the first two periods,” he said. “Obviously their goalie had a great night. Those things happen sometimes, but I think if we can do more of the same, more often than not, I think we give ourselves a really good chance to win hockey games.

“With our group, we’re always going to get our looks, we’re always going to get our chances. But I think the mindset of knowing that he’s going to make some good saves, he’s a good goalie and he’s going to make some big-time saves, that’s important. Not gripping our sticks too tight, but continuing to play loose and continuing to play our game.”

The Oilers came into their highly anticipated series opener having scored 63 goals in 18 games this postseason, an average of 3.50 per game. Only four times in that span did they score two or fewer goals.

Then came Game 1 of the Cup Final, where they were shut out by Bobrovsky.

“We have to just put ourselves in a position to get good, quality scoring chances and bear down on those opportunities,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said, adding that his team is confident it can solve the riddle of Bobrovsky.

“If we’re playing well, they’ll go our way. They’ll go in. As good as any goaltender can play against us, we’ll get some production.”