The Penguins are on the brink of elimination, needing to win four straight to advance over the Flyers following a 5-2 Game 3 loss here in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
There's one player on this roster who has been in this situation before and ultimately was able to help force a Game 7: Stuart Skinner.
The Panthers took a 3-0 series lead over Skinner's Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers were blanked 3-0 in Game 1, lost 4-1 in Game 2, and had a rally fall short in a 4-3 loss in Game 3. The Oilers didn't roll over and die, though. They came out with a big 8-1 win in the next one to force a Game 5. They beat the Panthers 5-3 to force Game 6. Then they had another big win, 5-1, to force Game 7.
Skinner and the Oilers fell just short of completing the comeback, falling 2-1 in Game 7. But those Oilers showed resilience to go from three tough losses to a goal away from a Stanley Cup. And Skinner thinks the Penguins can get out of this hole, too.
"We've got a resilient group," he said. "You know, I can say that over and over and over again. But we've proven it, we've shown it. This is a group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that. I've personally done it, to be able to go to Game 7. It's possible."
As the Penguins look to get out of this hole, Skinner thinks he can draw on his experience with the Oilers to help the Penguins here.
"There's a lot of pressure, a lot of noise going on everywhere," he said. "I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me, in my experience, was it kind of just frees you up. You don't really have anything to lose, you know? And we're in a spot where we don't have anything to lose, and they do. You can change momentum, and when that happens? Things can go in your favor."
The Penguins need a lot to go in their favor. The odds certainly aren't in their favor -- a successful comeback from a deficit like this has only happened four times in NHL history -- the 1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders, 2010 Flyers and 2014 Kings.
That isn't exactly encouraging. But dwelling on that won't get the Penguins any closer to becoming the fifth team on that list.
"Statistics are fun to look at," Skinner said. "But doesn't mean they're always right."
THE ASYLUM
Skinner has been here before
The Penguins are on the brink of elimination, needing to win four straight to advance over the Flyers following a 5-2 Game 3 loss here in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
There's one player on this roster who has been in this situation before and ultimately was able to help force a Game 7: Stuart Skinner.
The Panthers took a 3-0 series lead over Skinner's Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers were blanked 3-0 in Game 1, lost 4-1 in Game 2, and had a rally fall short in a 4-3 loss in Game 3. The Oilers didn't roll over and die, though. They came out with a big 8-1 win in the next one to force a Game 5. They beat the Panthers 5-3 to force Game 6. Then they had another big win, 5-1, to force Game 7.
Skinner and the Oilers fell just short of completing the comeback, falling 2-1 in Game 7. But those Oilers showed resilience to go from three tough losses to a goal away from a Stanley Cup. And Skinner thinks the Penguins can get out of this hole, too.
"We've got a resilient group," he said. "You know, I can say that over and over and over again. But we've proven it, we've shown it. This is a group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that. I've personally done it, to be able to go to Game 7. It's possible."
As the Penguins look to get out of this hole, Skinner thinks he can draw on his experience with the Oilers to help the Penguins here.
"There's a lot of pressure, a lot of noise going on everywhere," he said. "I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me, in my experience, was it kind of just frees you up. You don't really have anything to lose, you know? And we're in a spot where we don't have anything to lose, and they do. You can change momentum, and when that happens? Things can go in your favor."
The Penguins need a lot to go in their favor. The odds certainly aren't in their favor -- a successful comeback from a deficit like this has only happened four times in NHL history -- the 1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders, 2010 Flyers and 2014 Kings.
That isn't exactly encouraging. But dwelling on that won't get the Penguins any closer to becoming the fifth team on that list.
"Statistics are fun to look at," Skinner said. "But doesn't mean they're always right."
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