PK Subban predicts Canadian Stanley Cup drought will continue

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Graham Montgomery
June 5, 2024 (1:47 PM)

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NHL analyst PK Subban believes the Edmonton Oilers are no match for the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup finals, largely due to the difference between Stuart Skinner and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky has been stellar for the Panthers in this playoffs run, coming off another great performance that helped the team get into the finals last year. He was especially sharp in the Eastern Conference finals, allowing just 12 goals in six games, five of which came in game two, which the Rangers won 5-4 in overtime.
It was one of the best statistical performances by a Panthers goal in a playoff series in franchise history.

Sergei Bobrovsky posted a 1.89 goals-against average in the ECF, marking the second-best GAA in a series by a @FlaPanthers goaltender (min. 6 GP) behind John Vanbiesbrouck (1.68 in 1996 CSF). His performance was crucial in what was one of the closest CF/SF series in NHL history.

The Panthers heavily outplayed the Rangers in the series, consistently dominating them in terms of shots on goal. However, when the shots have come throughout the playoffs, Bobrovsky has been ready for them, allowing three goals or more just four times in the entire playoff run.

These are Sergei Bobrovsky's game logs this post season. He's allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of Florida's 16 games.

The Panthers have been great at reducing his workload, but these numbers are still very, very impressive.

This is the crux of Subban's argument. He believes that Stuart Skinner will have to elevate his game to Bobrovsky's level in order to give the team a chance, and he is not particularly optimistic about the chances of that actually happening.

"Edmonton can win this series, but it's going to take Stuart Skinner to be better than Sergei Bobrovsky, which I don't believe is going to happen. Bobrovsky has been unbelievable, and I believe that he'll be the best player in this Final when it's all said and done. To ͏me the most important thing is the ͏goaltending duel. Sergei Bobrovsk͏y has to be ͏Florida's best͏ player, and I think that he will be."

To be fair to Skinner, he was excellent in the Western Conference finals. He shutdown the Stars offense, posting quite similar numbers to Bobrovsky in the series and he did not have the luxury of his team vastly outplaying their opponents every night. That was especially evident in game six, when the Oilers were outshot 35-10, but Skinner stood tall.

The @EdmontonOilers Stuart Skinner in the series against Dallas:

Record: 4-2
GAA: 1.91
SVP .923

Skinner dug in and delivered!

The other guy in the photo below helped too😉

That being said, Skinner was not good in the first two playoffs rounds before the conference finals. He had an .877 save percentage over his first eight starts, and even got pulled during the series against Vancouver, allowing Stuart Skinner to take the net for two games in the series.

After an .877 save percentage in his first 8 games of these playoffs, @EdmontonOilers goalie Stuart Skinner has put up a mark of .920 in 8 games since. Posting a .923 sv% in his team's Conf. Final victory over DAL, he tied behind just 6 totals on this EDM franchise list of series

This inconsistent performance from Skinner will likely have many Oilers fans concerned about his play in the finals. As Subban predicts, it very well could be the reason the Oilers lose the finals, which would extend the Canadian Stanley Cup drought at least one more year.

Source: HockeyFeed
P.K. Subban has bad news for Oilers fans