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Pssst … the Edmonton Oilers are playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
No, no. It’s cool, it’s cool. They haven’t started yet, so there’s still time to figure out exactly what that means so you won’t be completely broadsided when people start talking to you about it over the next couple weeks.
I mean, the last thing we want is for them to find out you don’t have a clue about hockey, other than you have a niece or nephew who plays on some sort of team. Somewhere. At least, you think so anyway.
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Check that. The last thing you want is for people to find out you don’t really care, or understand what all the fuss is about. Then, all of a sudden you’re the only one at work not getting invited out to the watch party. Your co-workers are avoiding eye contact with you, and everyone clams up around the water cooler in order to avoid the awkward silence the last time they were all talking about a big game and you asked who’s playing.
So, you don’t dare ask questions anymore. Not without sitting down and streaming all 82 games of the regular season, plus the previous three rounds of playoffs to get up to speed.
But have no fear. We’ve got you covered. Here is an easy-to-digest refresher on all you need to know to help you fit into the conversation. Because, hey, it is supposed to be our national winter sport after all.
So, go grab a snack and let’s sit down for a quick Hockey 101 on what’s going on with the Oilers right now:
What you absolutely need to know is the Edmonton Oilers aren’t just playing for the Stanley Cup. They are back in the final for the second year in a row. Not only that, they’re playing against the same Florida Panthers who beat them in last year’s championship.
First off, the Stanley Cup Final (yes, they capitalize it) is a best-of-7 series between the last two teams standing in the NHL playoffs. The Oilers represent the Western Conference, and the Panthers the Eastern Conference in the competition over what might as well be hockey’s Holy Grail, which you also might hear called Lord Stanley (after the 16th Earl of Derby who commissioned the original trophy in 1892). While we don’t need to go delving into the history of the whole thing, it’s worth looking at some more recent past.
Last year, the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the series and were on the brink of suffering the embarrassment of getting swept by Florida but they pulled up their socks and came back to force a Game 7, only to wind up on the wrong side of a 2-1 score.
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And now they’re back to try and earn some redemption.
Interestingly, it’s the same situation the Panthers found themselves in last year, after having lost the 2022-23 Cup final to the Vegas Golden Knights.
All you need to know is they’re good — really good — this time around. They’re led by Connor McDavid, who is basically the second coming of Wayne Gretzky … and if you don’t know who that is, there isn’t a Hockey 101 article on the planet that can save you.
You might also hear McDavid referred to as the best player in the world. And while that is true, hands down, (nobody has scored more points since McDavid arrived in the NHL in 2015), the crazy part is he wasn’t even the best player on his team this season.
That distinction belongs to his right-hand man (and part-time left-winger) Leon Draisaitl, who led the league with 52 goals in 71 games played to capture something called the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard trophy. He also had 54 assists to finish third overall in league scoring with 106 points.
And he did it despite missing 11 games due to injury.
McDavid missed even more due to a combination of injury and getting suspended three games for crosschecking a guy in the helmet. He earned an even 100 points (26 goals, 74 assists) in 67 games to finish sixth overall in league scoring.
McDavid, the Oilers captain, currently leads the NHL with 26 playoff points (six goals, 20 assists), while Draisaitl sits second with 25 (seven goals, 18 assists).
But the big difference you need to know this year is Edmonton’s big guns aren’t the only thing driving the team. They are getting an uncharacteristic amount of support from secondary scoring (from both the defence and from guys who don’t typically play on the top two lines).
At the same time, the defence has come together and has been playing well despite only getting their leader, Mattias Ekholm, back from injury in their last game.
As for goaltending, well, that has been a story in and of itself these playoffs. We’ll get to that in a bit.
OK, here’s the gist of what you need to know about the team the Oilers are facing.
Florida entered the league in 1993, which also happens to be the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup (the Montreal Canadiens defeated Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings), and has appeared in three previous Stanley Cup Finals (1996, 2023, ’24). Last year, they defeated the Oilers with a 4-3 series win on hockey’s grandest stage.
The Panthers are making their third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. You might hear about some guy called Goalie Bob, who is in net for them, obviously, and another named Matthew Tkachuk, who gets under the skin of every Oilers fan in existence. And that means he’s under yours too, as of right now.
The guy is basically a walking meme in Oil Country (oh, yeah; that’s what those who bleed blue and orange call it around here). If you haven’t seen any by now, google his name and his nickname, The Turtle. It goes back to the time he got absolutely rag-dolled by former Oilers forward Zach Kassian during a now-infamous moment when he ducked and covered after throwing a dirty — but technically not illegal — bodycheck in a Battle of Alberta on Jan. 11, 2020, back when Tkachuk was playing for the rival Calgary Flames (insert obligatory boos here).
Tkachuk is an opportunistic ship-disturber who fancies himself a pseudo tough guy who will gladly put a fist in your face, just as long as you happen to be a 50-goal scorer and one of his teammates has already grabbed you first.
Basically, he doesn’t follow The Code, a set of unwritten rules hockey players live by that … you know what? We don’t really need to get into all that right now. It goes without saying Tkachuk is someone Oilers fans love to hate. Period.
But sports, like good ol’ Westerns, need the guy in a black hat to push the plot along. And for many, it’s as much fun to cheer against the bad guy as it is to support your own team.
So, roll out the red carpet, Edmonton. And be glad it’s red so you don’t have to worry about removing the stains if the Oilers accidentally get any turtle blood on it.
The Oilers didn’t exactly take the most direct route to the finals this year, opening playoffs with back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Kings by a combined 12-7. As they were heading into the third period of Game 3 trailing by a goal, it looked like it was all going to be over before it could even get started, and last year’s near-miraculous run was going to go down as a one-off.
Then, like he did in Round 2 a year ago, Calvin Pickard came in to save the day. The backup got the nod to start in place of Stuart Skinner, who missed nine of the last 11 regular-season games with a concussion, and did not disappoint.
Pickard backed the Oilers to six-straight wins, not only securing a fourth-straight first-round victory over the Kings, but putting them firmly in the driver’s seat against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2. Unfortunately, Pickard got hurt. But the pain was eased by Skinner coming back and earning more shutouts (three) than losses (two) to get the Oilers back on track on the road to redemption.
This is what a true goaltending tandem looks like.
It is also safe to say Oilers fans who love to hate Skinner wouldn’t remember what a real-life franchise goaltender if he hit them over the head with his overgrown stick. He’s taken heat over the past couple seasons, for sure. But let’s remember, it’s not his fault the organization put all their goaltending eggs into the basket of a rookie back in 2022-23. All Skinner did was keep winning the starting job and make the all-star game in his first full year, before taking them to two Stanley Cup Finals the next.
But the veteran Pickard, the former journeyman who bounced up and down from the minors for 11 years before finally finding a home in Edmonton, has also been there to help. And can’t be applauded enough.
If you find numbers paint a better picture, here’s a few that might help connect the dots on what’s been going on this year: (If not, congratulations, you’re not a nerd and can skip to the end).
Edmonton: 48-29-5 (third in the Pacific Division)
Florida: 47-31-4 (third in the Atlantic Division)
This gives Edmonton home-ice advantage, where four of the seven games are scheduled to be played at Rogers Place, including Games 1 and 2, as well as 5 and 7, if necessary.
Last year, Florida held home ice, and used it to full advantage in what turned out to be a one-goal game in Game 7 inside the friendly confines of Amerant Bank Arena. This could turn into a big deal once again.
Edmonton: Five (1984, ’85, ’87, ’88, ’90)
Florida: One (2024)
The Panthers became the third team in the NHL’s expansion era to go from Stanley Cup runners-up to Stanley Cup champions in one year. The Oilers are looking to become the fourth.
Edmonton: Los Angeles Kings 4-2, Vegas Golden Knights 4-1, Dallas Stars 4-1
Florida: Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1, Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3, Carolina Hurricanes 4-1
Game 1: Wednesday, June 4, Rogers Place, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
Game 2: Friday, June 6, Rogers Place, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
Game 3: Monday, June 9, Amerant Bank Arena, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
Game 4: Thursday, June 12, Amerant Bank Arena, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
*Game 5: Saturday, June 14, Rogers Place, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
*Game 6: Tuesday, June 17, Amerant Bank Arena, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
*Game 7: Friday, June 20, Rogers Place, 8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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