Call Outs, Stand Outs, and Shoutouts: Oilers make presence felt in emphatic Game 4 win
June 16, 2024
Can the Oilers keep the goals coming, or will Bobrovsky shut the door?
June 17, 2024
June 16, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg
Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch made a few tweaks to his forward lines with the Oilers’ season on the line in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The only line that stayed intact from Game 3 was Adam Henrique centering Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown.
Something that I noticed right away was that it wasn’t Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl’s line that got the start. It was Henrique, Janmark, and Brown that were tasked with matching up against Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe to start the game. Janmark (6:43), Brown (6:19), and Henrique (5:54) were the forwards that Barkov saw the most at five-on-five in Game 4.
McDavid only played 3:31 against Barkov at five-on-five. It’s clear that Knoblauch was trying to get McDavid away from Barkov in Game 4. It’s not like Barkov had totally shut McDavid down in the first three games, but the Oilers lost all three of those games and needed a different strategy. Well, the Janmark-Henrique-Brown line scored one five-on-five goal while Barkov’s line was held off the scoresheet, so that’s a win.
Henrique scored the five-on-five goal, and I don’t mean to diminish his work; but Janmark and Brown were exceptional in their roles in Game 4.
Let’s start with the Henrique goal. Janmark accepted a stretch pass at the offensive blue line and was able to hold off Niko Mikkola on the left wing so that he could find Henrique at the top of the crease. Brown drove down the left wing and took Brandon Montour out of the play, which created the space for Janmark and Henrique to make the play.
Janmark and Brown teamed up for a huge short-handed goal to open the scoring though. Brown chipped a puck by a Panthers defender in the Oilers zone, which set up a two-on-one rush with Janmark. Brown held onto the puck and patiently outwaited Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky slid too far out towards Brown, and Brown carried the puck past Bobrovksy on the right side of the net. Brown chose to slide a pass into the crease that went between Bobrovsky and the right side of the net. Janmark was there to score the goal.
That was Janmark’s second short-handed goal of these playoffs. He’s the first Oiler to accomplish that feat since Todd Marchant in 1997. Brown has assisted on both of Janmark’s short-handed goals. Brown gave Janmark a “shit burger” of a pass in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, and Janmark was able to put it home.
They have both been on the ice for two short-handed goals. Janmark has only been on the ice for two goals on the penalty kill in the entire playoffs, and he’s second on the team in penalty killing ice time in the playoffs (45:27). His goal share is EVEN on the penalty kill through 22 playoff games! Brown has only been on the ice for one goal against on the penalty kill. That means that he is actually UP 2-1 in goals on the penalty kill!
Brown (8) and Janmark (6) lead the Oilers in short-handed scoring chances. Brown leads the team in short-handed scoring chances despite only playing 29:16 on the penalty kill in these playoffs. He does great work at defending the Oilers blue line. He’s great on zone entry denials, and he forces a lot of turnovers high in the Oilers zone on the penalty kill. That’s why he is able to generate so many scoring chances on the penalty kill. Brown hasn’t scored a shorty in these playoffs, but his work in his own end created both of Janmark’s short-handed goals.
Related: Call Outs, Stand Outs, and Shoutouts: Oilers make presence felt in emphatic Game 4 win
Janmark and Brown weren’t the offensive stars of the night. McDavid had four points and he set the new all-time single season playoff assists record. Dylan Holloway had two goals and an assist. Janmark and Brown got the party started though. Their work had the Oilers up 2-0 just 7:48 into the game. They set Rogers Place on fire, and the team poured it on from there.
Janmark doesn’t get much credit for the work he does, but he’s an incredibly reliable player for the Oilers. He’s a true veteran that makes the smart plays consistently and rarely makes mistakes. He has been asked to play up and down the lineup throughout his Oilers tenure because his coaches have a lot of trust in him.
It’s great to see Brown contributing in a meaningful way at this time of the year after everything he has been through in the last two seasons. He missed all but four games last season with an ACL injury. He came back from that and struggled mightily in the regular season. It took Brown 54 games to get a goal in an Oilers uniform. He started the playoffs as a healthy scratch. Now, Brown is leading the team in short-handed points and chances in the playoffs. His skating is finally back to a place where it is allowing him to contribute meaningfully.
The Oilers will need to continue to get contributions from Janmark and Brown if their season is to continue past Tuesday evening.
