After a wait which felt like forever for Oilers’ die hard fans, they’re finally in the Stanley Cup Final. The noise inside Rogers Place was deafening as the clock ran out in Game 6 and the Oilers sent the Stars back home. In the final two games of that gritty series vs Dallas, everything clicked for Edmonton and now they get to play one final best of seven series in the biggest stage there is in hockey. It’s been 18 years since they’ve been in the Cup Final and it was pure joy for everyone in that stadium.
The Oilers had some extremely nervy moments in the Western Conference Finals but eventually, they were able to pull through. One defining characteristic that led the Oilers to win was their special teams. In the playoffs, they have the best power play and power play kill percentage (statmuse). Dallas, like every other team, couldn’t hurt Edmonton on the man advantage and they had to pay the price against the Oilers incredible power play group. In Game 6, the Oilers had only 2 power play chances but they made the most of their opportunities. They scored two power play goals in the first period and that really propelled them to the win.
Additionally, they got great goaltending in the series, especially in the end. Stuart Skinner rose to the occasion and delivered clutch performances in the final two games of the series. In Game 5, he made 19/20 saves to silence the Dallas crowd and he was even better in the next game with 33/34 saves. He outplayed Oettinger, a tremendous goalie, which sparked this team. In the finals, he’ll need to play well against Bobrovsky because the Panthers goaltender is on top of his game right now. On the topic of big performances from big players, Connor McDavid put the team on his back into the Cup Final. His goal was brilliant and that’s exactly what Edmonton needed from the best player in hockey currently. When his team plays the Panthers, they’ll try to slow him down but McDavid has to show up and deliver big time. The Oilers run on Draisaitl and McDavid so these two have to have the best series of their lives.
Edmonton’s fan base is full of belief right now and they’re ready to explode. The Oilers are within touching distance of the mighty Stanley Cup but they have to defeat the Florida Panthers in order to do so. Will Kris Knoblauch bring hardware back to Alberta and defeat Paul Maurice’s team?