Netminder Mike Smith has issued a rallying call to the Edmonton Oilers to show an all-time desperation to keep their Stanley Cup dream alive.
The Oilers find themselves 3-0 down and on the brink of elimination at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
They are 16/1 to turn the best-of-seven series around and veteran Smith says the Oilers need to focus on winning one game at a time beginning at home on Monday.
What: Colorado Avalanche v Edmonton Oilers, Western Conference Finals Game 4
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton
When: 01:00am, Tuesday 7th June, 2022
How to watch: TNT or bet365 Live Stream
Odds: COL Avalanche 10/13, EDM Oilers 11/10
History very much against Oilers
Edmonton face the historically difficult task of rallying from 3-0 down - in NHL play-off history it has been achieved four times from 202 such scenarios.
Smith said to the media: "It obviously stings to go down 3-0, but saying that, it's not over until you lose four. We've got to come back in Game 4 and try and win one game and move on from there.
"Obviously, the desperation level has to be at an all-time high in order to win at this time of the year. It comes from everybody in the room. Just a little bit more."
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Forty-year-old Smith has recorded eight wins in 15 post-season starts for the Oilers, helping them past the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames. He has a .917 save-percentage and 3.18 goals-against-average with two shut-outs.
To stay alive, the Oilers will need to re-find their offence after scoring just twice in the past two games.
They have averaged four goals per game in the play-offs and have the top two point-scorers in the play-offs - Connor McDavid (30) and Leon Draisaitl (28), plus the top goal-scorer in Evander Kane (13) - giving cause for optimism.
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