Oilers confident for Game 4: 'we can beat this team'
The Edmonton Oilers have dug themselves a deep hole, but they remain confident they can pull out a victory.
It would be one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of professional sports, but despite the deck being stacked against them the Edmonton Oilers remain confident they can prevail over the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Several members of the Oilers had to face the media on Saturday ahead of Game 4 and answer difficult questions about the team's prospects in this series, but despite that the Oilers kept up a brave front and expressed confidence that they would triumph in the end.
Oilers forward Connor Brown suggested that the fact the Oilers have controlled much of the play over of the first 3 games makes this somewhat of an unusual situation for a team down 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Final.
"I think that because we feel like we held the play for the majority of the series here, I think it makes the situation that we are in less daunting," admitted Brown. "The unique thing about our club over the year we've shown that when we're backed into a corner that's when we're most comfortable and that's when we seem to play our best."
It sounds like Brown is very confident in fact.
"For the majority of this series we've had them on their heels, so its just coming out and doing it for a full 60," said Brown.
Oilers head coach coach Kris Knoblauch expressed similar sentiments earlier in the week.
"I think that we’ve shown that we can beat this team," said Knoblauch.
On Saturday, the Oilers head coach was singing a similar tune, once again expressing great confidence in his group to pull a win out of this series despite the big deficit they are currently facing.
"It's gonna be a challenge but if there's a team that can do it, if there's a group of men that I want to do this with, it's the guys in that room," said Knoblauch during his pre-game press conference ahead of Game 4. "From what I've seen through this season, how resilient they are, their perseverance, focus, attitude, I'm really excited for the next 10 days."
It will take more than confidence however to beat a Florida Panthers team that has thus far found a way to win every game in this series.