It’s no bold claim to say in order to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Final there needs to be a heightened sense of belief.
And although Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t go full Ted Lasso by slapping a ‘believe’ sign in the locker room, he seemed to have plenty of faith ahead of Game 4 against the Florida Panthers.
Speaking to media on Saturday, Knoblauch said he was “really excited for the next 10 days,” showing his level of confidence in the Oilers to not only avoid a sweep but also force a Game 7.
“It’s going to 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,” the bench boss said.
Even if, by his own admission, Knoblauch hasn’t been in such a scenario before through any level of coaching, he feels Edmonton is more than capable of pulling off the first 3-0 comeback in the playoffs since the Los Angeles Kings did it a decade ago.
He’s hoping the Oilers can be the fifth team in NHL history to overcome such a deficit and go on win the series.
And as far as history goes, his unwavering belief faces an even steeper challenge when looking at championship series. There has been just one team in the NHL all-time to overcome a 3-0 hole in a Stanley Cup Final and won the series — that being the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
The other 27 teams to have gone down in the same situation went on to lose, 20 in sweeps.
Knoblauch doesn’t seem to mind those odds, however, as he thinks Edmonton can pull off the unthinkable for a fairytale ending.
“Hopefully Zach Hyman can write a storybook about this,” Knoblauch said.
