SUNRISE, Fla. — The end has come.
But as the Panthers and Oilers prepare to decide the 2023-24 NHL champion on Monday night in sweltering South Florida, the past is as intriguing as the present in the outcome.
Will this be the first time a Canadian team wins the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Canadiens?
Will they be the first team to come from behind to win a Cup Final since the Maple Leafs came from 3-0 down to beat the Red Wings in 1942?
Or will the Panthers survive losing their last three games by a combined score of 18-5 and hoist their first Stanley Cup since its inception in the 1993-94 season?
It’s the stuff of dreams … or maybe nightmares. But on Sunday, both teams were thinking about dreams.
“What makes this game great is the context,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Nobody has ever played the Bucks.[yard] I played on a rink in Canada and scored the winning goal in overtime in the third game of the preliminary round. It’s always an exciting game.”
Not only in Canada and the United States, but also in Cologne, Germany (Leon Draisaitl) and Tampere, Finland (Aleksander Barkov): this fantasy knows no boundaries.
“I was definitely one of those kids,” said Barkov, the Panthers captain. “I’d always be playing by myself, outside or at home, and I’d be like, ‘This is Game 7, this is the Stanley Cup playoffs, maybe overtime.’ So I have a lot of memories of that and now it’s becoming true.” [It’s] It’s the most exciting time to be a hockey player.”
The Panthers beat the Lightning in five games, the Bruins in six games and the Rangers in six games to get there. They won the first three games of the Finals and then went on a six-game winning streak.
The Oilers defeated the Kings in five games and then won Game 7 in Vancouver in the second round, then beat the Stars in six games in the Western Conference Finals.
But Edmonton’s 3-0 deficit in the series has proven to be just a blip on a magical season so far. They started off with 3 wins, 9 losses and one draw under former coach Jay Woodcroft, who was fired Nov. 12 and replaced by Chris Knoblock, who was previously the manager of the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack.
The Oilers quickly bounced back, rattling off a 16-game winning streak, the second-longest in NHL history. They have the top four scorers in the postseason this season, led by superstar Connor McDavid with 42 points (8 goals, 34 assists).
“Having the best players is definitely a bonus,” Knoblauch said. “Not only do we have the best players; [he’s] I’m playing very well right now.
“Not only will we be advantageous having him on the ice, but I think it will bring confidence to the whole team.”
“Every game you go into, you know you have the best player in the world on your side, but in this league, it’s really hard to be missing one, two or three players. You need the whole team,” added Draisaitl, who is third in scoring in the playoffs with 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points.
Draisaitl pointed to the Oilers’ exceptional penalty killing. They’ve been shorthanded 68 times and allowed just four goals. Against the Panthers, they stopped 19 of their 20 penalties.
The Panthers worked energetically at their practice facility without goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who was given a day of rest ahead of the most important night of his life, that of his players and coaching staff.
Now it all comes down to one match of 60 minutes or more.
“I’m excited,” McDavid said. “Obviously, we’ve worked hard to get to this position.
“We have to stay level-headed. We can’t ride the waves or the rollercoaster. We haven’t achieved anything yet. We’ve won three big matches to get back in the series. It’s down to one match here but we’re ready.”
