Have the Oilers rattled or solved Bobrovsky?

The Edmonton Oilers have stormed back in this Stanley Cup Final with authority, down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers but winning both Games 4 and 5 to force a sixth contest, which will be played Friday night in Edmonton.

In those two wins, the Oilers scored nine goals on 39 shots on Panthers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. In Game 4, they chased the Russian netminder from the net with five goals on 16 shots, then followed it with four goals in the first 30 minutes of Game 5 on Tuesday.

When the series was at 3-0, it was widely assumed that Bobrovsky would win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff’s most valuable player. But now as the teams shift their focus to Game 6, the question becomes: have the Oilers rattled the Florida goalie or have they solved him?

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Bobrovsky’s struggles and whether he can help the Panthers clinch their first Stanley Cup championship Friday night, or whether Edmonton can extend the series to a Game 7.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Have the Oilers rattled Sergei Bobrovsky or have they just rattled him?

Frank Seravalli: I think they’ve just rattled him, I don’t know if they’ve necessarily “solved him.” The idea that the Oilers have targeted the blocker side to him is interesting, but he’s also a supremely talented player whose athleticism has put him in positions to succeed.

I think it’s more mental than anything. Consider the way the Panthers lost Game 5: they gave up a shorthanded goal, a wonky one to Connor McDavid on the goal line, then he made a once-a-season play to set up Corey Perry. Are all three of those situations going to present themselves in Game 6?

To me, Bobrovsky is clearly the reason why this series has extended. They need more stops.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…