A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cup…
After watching the Panthers rip into the Oilers during the first period of last night’s Game 4 in Sunrise, Florida, I couldn’t help but marvel at what a superb hockey team they are.
In my mind, the perfect hockey team with the perfect blend of attributes. Speed, size, skill and toughness, with high levels of compete and character.
If I were building a hockey team from scratch, I’d follow Bill Zito’s blueprint to the letter.
Entering the second period with a 3-0 edge and a 2-1 series lead, it appeared a Cup repeat was all but in the bag. Then someone let the cat out of the bag, to coin a phrase. Or more accurately, grabbed the Cat by the tail and stuffed it into the bag.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch replaced starting goalie Stuart Skinner with journeyman backup Calvin Pickard. He consigned wildly undisciplined and penalty-riddled Evander Kane to the fourth line.
Perhaps the biggest spark came in the form of a between periods “pep talk” from Corey Perry. Normally not one to speak up, the 40-year-old power forward implored his teammates to wake up and get to work, albeit with more colorful language.