"It's never fun being down, but the belief has been here," he said. "When you're down three and your backs are against the wall, I think everybody kind of counts you out, but the belief within the group feels similar to what I've been through before. It's just unwavering in here. We just keep pushing, keep playing hockey, and I think most of all, everybody's just having a lot of fun."
Stuart Skinner steadied the Oilers' crease with 20 saves, even adding an assist in the last few minutes on Darnell Nurse's empty-netter, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record a point when facing elimination in a Stanley Cup Final.
The hometown netminder has watched the forwards and defencemen in front of him battle to reduce the chances he's had to face with a defensive commitment that's taken on new life for the Oilers, along with their 94.1 percent (64-for-68) penalty kill during the playoffs that's produced two short-handed goals against the Panthers and kept them to 1-for-19 with the man advantage.
"It's been massive, especially against a team like Florida," Skinner said. "They know how to put pucks in the net. They know how to obviously get on their forecheck. They're a very strong team, so, to be honest, I think it just comes down to little details and doing the right thing at the right times. I think we've had guys really step up at the big moments, whether that's a very minimal thing like getting a stick on a puck or stick-checking a guy."
In a Game 7 to decide the Stanley Cup, those little things get amplified and make a bigger difference, as five-time Final veteran Corey Perry can attest.
"Emotions," he said. "Just doing the little things, and the bigger things happen. You could say that and all the clichés you want, but in those games, everything's magnified so much more than 4, 5, 6, whatever it is."
"Nerves are exciting. It's a good thing to have nerves because it means you put yourself in that position. It's exciting. You don't take anything for granted in this game."
