SUNRISE, FL - The Oilers quick two-game tour of Florida will continue and conclude on Saturday as they start a weekend back-to-back with a matinee matchup vs. the Panthers followed by another afternoon affair vs. the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Coming off a 3-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Oilers will look reverse their fortunes on the opposite coast of the Sunshine State.
The second and final meeting of the season between the Oilers and Panthers sees both teams very much in playoff contention with less than 30 games remaining on each of their schedules as the Oilers sit in second place in the Pacific Division and the Panthers just outside third in the Atlantic, two points back of Toronto with a game in hand as of Friday evening.
KEEPING IT LOOSE
Despite the hard-fought loss in Tampa on Thursday, the Oilers players that opted into the skate in Sunrise on Friday were a spirited bunch. It seemed the practice was more about a focus on the physical aspect of getting their legs moving and the juices flowing after a fast-paced affair on Thursday as they prepped for another on Saturday and a very busy schedule to follow.
"This next stretch, we have a crazy amount of games coming up so it's less about going out there and getting a good sweat and more about getting your legs back after a game like last night. It was a tough game with a lot of skating" said defenceman Matt Benning.
Knowing now what a deep Tampa Bay squad brought to the table, Benning is expecting nothing less from the Panthers who are in the midst of an intense playoff push of their own.
"Florida is a fast team too and we're going to have to to be ready for that. I think for some guys, it was best to stay off (the ice) today. For others, it's good to get out there and it's good to be light."
That light nature of the skate included forward Leon Draisaitl taking some reps on defence, much to the amusement of his teammates.
"He's got some poise back there, you could say," Benning said with a smile.
"it's funny, he'll give us a hard time if we don't get a puck through or pick up a rim, so there was a few times that he let a few of the rims go over his stick so we were laying into him, it's all in good fun. That's the best part about the dressing room, is chirping and giving guys a hard time after they call you out. He was laughing, we were laughing."
Forward Kailer Yamamoto was another who opted into Saturday's skate and echoed Benning's sentiment about the atmosphere feeling loose as the team looks to band together for two points against Florida before flying to North Carolina to conclude their back-to-back.
"Any time you can have a skate like that, it's a lot of fun. Guys are laughing & hopefully it leads into our game and we can have some fun tomorrow and get a big win," said Yamamoto.
