Kris Knoblauch stated boldly he was looking forward to the next 10 days.
The Oilers head coach shared those feelings hours before his team faced elimination down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final.
Edmonton then went out and thumped the Eastern Conference champions 8-1 to earn a stay of execution.
Knoblauch 鈥� confidently, again 鈥� is now eyeing the next eight days he expects his team to spend together.
There remains, however, zero margin for error.
The Oilers face another back-against-the-wall, no-tomorrow test Tuesday against the Panthers still trailing the best-of-seven title series 3-1.
On the heels of Edmonton鈥檚 emphatic Saturday home triumph that had fans celebrating late into the night around Rogers Place, Knoblauch鈥檚 group is firmly focused on buying yet more time and, as superstar captain Connor McDavid said after Game 4, 鈥淒rag (the Panthers) back to Alberta.鈥�
Knoblauch鈥檚 words 鈥� he really had nothing to lose 鈥� could have served as bulletin board material for the other side.
But the rookie coach, hired in the fall with Edmonton in a 3-9-1 tailspin, had reason to share his unwavering belief publicly.
Apart from the Xs and Os, his job has never been about confidence 鈥� or keeping it high. He鈥檚 instead focused on not allowing frustration to creep into his ultra-talented roster.
That was the mission six weeks into the season, in the playoffs, and over the course of this series, where the Oilers feel they could very easily be up 3-1.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been counted out,鈥� Knoblauch told reporters Monday following practice at Amerant Bank Arena. 鈥淥thers have said, 鈥楾hey鈥檙e done, they鈥檙e not that good, it鈥檚 over.鈥� Whether that was in November or throughout the playoffs.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean anything to them.鈥�
The Oilers鈥� attack meant a lot in Game 4, exploding after being largely held in check by Florida.
McDavid led the way with four points, while Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally got on the scoresheet as Edmonton took an initial step toward potentially becoming the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0.
And just the second in a final, some 82 years after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
鈥淚f you look at the top of the mountain right now, it鈥檚 pretty steep,鈥� Draisaitl said. 鈥淏ut taking one day at a time doesn鈥檛 sound so bad.鈥�
The Oilers put a dent in Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 82-of-86 shots through the first three games before he got the hook after allowing five goals on 16 pucks on target Saturday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to decide how he plays (Game 5), we鈥檙e not going to decide how their team plays,鈥� said Edmonton defenceman Darnell Nurse, who ended Bobrovsky鈥檚 night with his first goal of the post-season. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to decide what calls are called.
鈥淲e can only control what we can control.鈥�
That calm approach is something Knoblauch brought with him when he was thrust into a hockey-crazed Canadian spotlight with a floundering Cup contender seven months ago.
鈥淔ound a way out of it,鈥� said Nugent-Hopkins, whose team is aiming to force Game 6 in Edmonton on Friday. 鈥淗e has belief in us and we have belief in each other.鈥�
The Oilers have demonstrated an ability to push back all season. Knoblauch has been steering that ship.
鈥淎 very resilient group,鈥� Draisaitl said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to find yourself in these situations too many times, but we鈥檝e always done a really good job of collectively pulling on the same rope together. It鈥檚 not individuals, it鈥檚 all of us together.
鈥淟ove playing for each other.鈥�
The big German added the belief Knoblauch has is justified.
鈥淚t鈥檇 be a shame if he didn鈥檛 have confidence in us by now,鈥� Draisaitl said with a smile. 鈥淔aced a lot of adversity this year, and always found a way to push through.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of confidence.鈥�
Knoblauch has still made plenty of tough calls throughout the spring.
He sat goaltender Stuart Skinner down 2-1 in the second round against the Vancouver Canucks before returning him to the crease after a two-game reset. Edmonton also trailed the Dallas Stars 2-1 in the Western Conference final.
No panic.
鈥淣ever really worried about whatever situation that we鈥檙e in,鈥� Skinner said of Knoblauch. 鈥淭hat belief that we (were) going to spend the next 10 days together 鈥� we鈥檝e got a lot of work to do and a lot of battle to go through in order to make that happen, but it does a lot for everybody.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 been like that all the way through,鈥� Nugent-Hopkins added.
The Oilers have faced tough challenges. This is simply another box to check in an adversity-filled campaign.
鈥淕uys who have seen hard times and have persevered,鈥� Knoblauch said of his players. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just having a lot of fun with it right now.
鈥淗opefully we can continue this on for another eight days.鈥�
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