(Fort Lauderdale) It’s unclear whether he’ll be fit enough to play in the next game, but at the very least, Aleksander Barkov is back in the Panthers’ inner circle.
The star forward took part in the Florida club’s practice Wednesday morning at the team’s training center in Fort Lauderdale.
Obviously, this does not guarantee his presence for the next game of the Stanley Cup final, which will be presented Thursday evening in Edmonton, but for the Panthers, at least, this is very good news.
“We’ll see where he’s at [Thursday], but he looked good on the ice with us in training,” coach Paul Maurice said on Wednesday.
Barkov, as we recall, was hit in the head by Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers during Monday night’s game at Sunrise, the second of the series, won by the Panthers, this time by a score of 4-1.
Draisaitl was not suspended by the National League for his actions. Clearly dazed, the Panthers player had to leave the game and not return afterwards.
“When it happens, we experience a bit of this fear, I don’t know if that’s the right word, because no one wants to lose their captain,” added Paul Maurice. At the time, we don’t know his condition for a while… He does so much for us, he’s a guy who is difficult to replace. »
Barkov was scheduled to leave for Alberta at noon on Wednesday with the rest of the team, but due to very heavy rain in the Fort Lauderdale area, the Panthers’ charter plane was unable to take off at the scheduled time.
Assuming that the Panthers will eventually surrender, it is with a 2-0 lead in this final that they will present themselves in Edmonton. We can of course bring out the usual clichés, including the one which reminds us that it’s not over until it’s over, the reality remains: the clubs which have a 2-0 lead in the final end up winning the cup by a margin of 91%. In fact, teams with a 2-0 lead in the final have a record of 49-5.
If they want a little inspiration, the Oilers can always look to the 2011 Boston Bruins, the last standing to overcome such a deficit in the Finals before being able to lift the Stanley Cup.
Of course, we can assume that no one on the Panthers has ever thought about storing cases of champagne somewhere cool. Because the players of the Florida club know very well that it is far from over. The Oilers have been handcuffed with just one goal in two games so far, but everyone is saying it can’t last.
“We can bring out all the statistics we want, but this is the final, and these are two very good teams facing each other in this series”, insisted Paul Maurice, who also does not think about the cash registers of champagne. “So we’re going to continue to prepare by doing the same thing. »
