SPORTS TALK: Can the Oilers bring the Cup back to Canada?
By Greg Buchanan
The Edmonton Oilers are one major obstacle away from ending Canada’s 31-year Stanley Cup drought.
The Oilers’ 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference final has secured their spot in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 2006.
With this win, Edmonton is now just four victories away from bringing the Stanley Cup back to Canada, a feat not achieved since the Montreal Canadiens’ triumph in 1993.
The Oilers’ journey to the final has sparked a sense of national pride for some, as they’re not just the only Canadian team in the final but have the most Canadian players on their roster. And for us here in Western Canada, “Thank God it’s not those Maple Leafs.”
Edmonton will be supported by the whole country. We all want Canada to win the Stanley Cup.
While it might not be true that the whole country will be behind the Oilers – Zach Hyman joked it probably won’t include Toronto – there is undoubtedly a swell of Canadian support.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid was asked if added pressure comes with being Canada’s team. He suggested there’s enough pressure being in the Stanley Cup final, where the stakes are already incredibly high.
Since Montreal’s victory in 1993, several Canadian teams have made it to the final but fallen short. That includes the Vancouver Canucks in 1994 and 2011, Calgary Flames in 2004, Edmonton in 2006, Ottawa Senators in 2007 and Montreal Canadiens in 2021. Edmonton hopes to break this streak.
Looking ahead, Edmonton’s matchup against the Florida Panthers will set a new record for the longest distance between two competing teams in NHL history, spanning 2,541 miles. The Panthers have never won a Stanley Cup, while the Oilers last won it all before most of their current players were born, making this a highly anticipated and competitive series.
If the Oilers hope to bring a Cup back to Canada, they’ll need to be more offensive-minded against the Panthers.
The Oilers managed only ten shots on goal in Game 6, an all-time low for a Conference final clincher. They held off the Stars, which fired 35 shots at Oilers’ goaltender Stuart Skinner, but it took Skinner to completely reverse his struggles from earlier in the playoffs to earn the win. Skinner finished the series with a .923 save percentage and a 1.96 goals-against average.
Special teams played a crucial role in Edmonton’s success. In Game 6, they were perfect on the power play, going 2-for-2, and maintained a flawless penalty-kill record, now at 28 straight kills.
They also have McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard scoring at a torrid pace, with 31, 28 and 27 points, respectively, in 18 games. They rank top-three in the NHL this post-season, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ranked fourth with 20 points.
But as usual, their depth must contribute if they don’t want to rely on Skinner to save the day like he did on Sunday. Only five Oilers have double digits in points, with Zach Hyman being the fifth with 18 points. After him, Evander Kane has eight, Mattias Ekholm has seven, and Brett Kulak has five. Everyone else has fewer than that.
The Panthers have seven players with at least 10 points and 12 with at least five. Sergei Bobrovsky, in net, gives the team a chance to win every time, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
It’s shaping up to be an intense and thrilling final, with the Oilers carrying the hopes of a city and, perhaps, a nation on their shoulders. They’ve shown glimpses of being a team that can win it all against the Los Angeles Kings, Canucks and Stars in this playoffs. Those glimpses must come together four times in seven games at most if they want to capture the Cup over a Panthers team that looks ready to do the same.
Play “La Bamba”.