This is the morning of the day, tonight we watch the Oilers play. Smiling faces, bittersweet memories, and a moment to contemplate how quickly years go by. It is a momentous day as we await what could be a monumental evening. I have one request: Enjoy this.
The photo above is of Ziggy, with her beloved hedgehog. We got it at the pet store on the day she came home with us, and it has been her best companion (non-human category) since that day. I’ve stuffed and restuffed, sewn and darned, washed (holy hell she doesn’t like that) and dried and her devotion to it is exceptional.
Ziggy’s hedgehog has about the same importance to her as Taylor Hall had to Oilers fans in 2010. Today is a day to look back, and to reflect, but I did want to take one moment and acknowledge what was wasted on the way. You know, Taylor Hall should be here tonight, Devan Dubnyk and Oscar Klefbom, too. In a world that shuffled coaches and general managers less, perhaps men like Nail Yakupov and Jesse Puljujarvi could be on the team.
Alas, it was not to be, as the 2010’s were the decade of Sail On, Sailor. The world is unfolding as it should; we celebrate the men who play for the Oilers and wish them luck on their journey tonight. Giants walk among us, we will witness and chronicle what we all hope will be a game for the ages. We also remember our past, and the good young men who were lost to injury, lowdown trifling or trade madness. It is a game day, one we haven’t seen in a generation. Enjoy this.
2010 TOP 25 PROSPECTS
2015 TOP 20 PROSPECTS
Perhaps we can pore over some of these names for a spell this morning. I always used to have one coffee with Jo-Anne each morning, two each on Saturday and Sunday. We’d talk about our day, the kids and our dreams. Small talk, nothing major, at some point I’d start professing my love for Fred McGriff or Ales Hemsky and she’d quietly mention it was time to call her sister. You know, these names above were damn good players, but our eyes drift past them because it’s all too much to take in, let alone remember.
I would like to mention one player here: Brandon Davidson. He was an exceptional young defenseman, I remember looking at David Johnston’s site one day and checking out his five-on-five Corsi (and rel) with astonishment. Davidson could have had a long and successful career, but it was shortened by Matthew Tkachuk. These things happen, few remember. I remember.
I wish I could tell Davidson that his injury and downbeat career trajectory had been paid back in full, plus interest. I cannot say that today, but perhaps a Stanley Cup victory over the Florida Panthers would help a little. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, ladies and men. It’s game day. Enjoy this.
Man am I happy they won this one. Don’t care how. You could see from the interviews after G5 and the following morning many of the boys were running on fumes. I don’t think they win a G7, and even if they did, they would stagger into the SCF and likely get run over by a very good FLA team. Winning today gives them a chance.
So they get 5 days rest and man are these needed. Plus extra days off for travel which is a big damn deal for a tired team. Skinner gets 5 days off which is pretty much ideal. Another long series could be tough on Bob who is older and has started every game for FLA. Those two games we got out of Pickard that gave Stu a break might end up looking really big if they win it all.
Get Foegle back in for G1 and Carrick too if he’s good to go. No way you take out Broberg, his on-ice numbers were insane today, and part of that is that he’s fresh. Vinny has a had a good rest and could give Kulak or Ceci a break if needed. We have depth – use it – even Gags or Erne could end up being useful for one game.
I would suggest that neither Skinner, Ceci or Kulak will be healthy scratched in the name of rest.
I would suggest that the only way Gagner or Erne see the ice is if there are 3, then 4 forward injuries, and they may even go 11/7 prior to putting either in.
I wish Sammy could get in for a game, but I’m with you… it’s not safe.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOaaaaaOOOOOOO!!!
Great win!!
Skinner had his best NHL game in the biggest game of his life and the biggest game for the franchise since Game 7, SCF 2006. Stood tall. Shut the front door. Put up a wall.
If Otter had been our starter tonight, wouldn’t we be saying the Hyman goal was save-able?
He deserves to be the starter in a Stanley Cup Final. And if he has a wobble, I feel a helluva lot better about Pickard than I ever did Conklin or Markannen. I have no problem going into the ultimate battle with our goalering crew.
“And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats
Vitas Gerulaitisthe Edmonton Oilers in the postseason176 times in a row!”I won’t lie, my biggest concern is that the Cats have been there before and we looked a tad nervous in the game that got us there.
So much more pressure on Canadian teams. Just makes for a bigger hill to climb. But let’s climb Pike’s Peak anyways.
Meh. No problem. We got this
Zach Hyman on-the-ice interview as the crowd loses its mind:
Just listen… You want to be in this market… with these fans, it makes everything more special. I mean just listen, its crazy.
Says the guy who used to play in Toronto.
Well, he never experienced a conference final there…
In his later dressing room interview:
This is one of the reasons I wanted to come here. I remember as a kid watching Edmonton and Carolina and my brothers and I are like that building is crazy, like it is the loudest building we have ever seen on TV and I vividly remember talking to my brother Spence about it when we signed, like I hope we get an opportunity to go to the Stanley Cup Final in front of these fans and I mean it was crazy loud for game 6 and I expect it to be bonkers, its going to be loud and this is why you come to a market like this to play in front of fans like this… this is what you dream of.
That 2006 insanity paying off to this day.
Another mindblowing stat: the Oilers special teams are otherworldly, best in the modern history of the NHL in the playoffs.
Oilers penalty kill GA/60: 2.03
Oilers 5×5 GA/60: 2.58
The Oilers are actually more effective defensively on the PK than at 5×5.
WHAT.A.WIN! Biggest win since 2006 when me and my buddies were watching in the living room in Fort McMurray where we made stadium seating and bought an old used couch to watch that run! This is amazing! Smitty, Hemmer, Roli and Prongs would be proud!
Scrolling (not trolling) through the Dallas Stars reddit forum…. The amount of salt there would make Sifto blush.
I felt watching the handshakes at the end that the Stars players really felt like it should have been theirs. Smug and contempt really.
After some serious butt clenching, being outshot 35-10, and knowing that we still have a ways to go, I’m probably feeling more relief and gratitude than pure joy at the moment. I will drink a Scotch tonight in their honour.
If we stay humble, work hard and respect the hockey gods, glory awaits us! Go Oilers!
A lot of commenters seemed quite focused on their bums tonight. I’m not sure why this is. I hope no one was multi-tasking…
😉
We had another game to play with. Wasn’t do or die, so can’t say I was at that level. But (pun intended) it’s funny how generations are different. I’ve never associated nervousness with my anus. Well, except for that time in the San Quentin shower room… Used to be about your balls shrinking, or a triphammer for a heart or vibrating hands, can’t breathe etc. Nor have I ever wanted the opposite—a loose sphincter, lol.
A warning to all… The Finals will be much worse on the nerves. And losing that series is far far far worse than being eliminated in the first round. To be so close you can taste it and then having to find a way to get there again. Soooo hard.
i think it’s gonna be a breeze. We’re hitting our stride if you don’t see it that’s ok but we got this.🤘
Never seen anyone go into a Cup Final essentially predicting a sweep. I hope you’re right, but hopefully too you can hang in there if things don’t go as swimmingly as you think.
Peter DeBoer… You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it!
2018-2019 San Jose Sharks lose Western Conference Final to the St.Louis Blues
2019-2020 Vegas Golden Knights lose Western Conference Final to the Dallas Stars
2020-2021 Vegas Golden Knights lose Western Conference Final to Montreal Canadiens
2022-2023 Dallas Stars lose Western Conference Final to Vegas Golden Knights
2023-2024 Dallas Stars lose Western Conference Final to the Edmonton Oilers
He lost five consecutive conference finals? No way! Whoa. Poor guy.
Just noticed that Heiskanen played 30 minutes tonight. They barely played their third pairing at all tonight. Broberg played 13 minutes tonight and probably should have played more given how calm and collected he was with the puck tonight.
Dallas’ depth was overrated.
Smellyglove beat me to it.
Heiskanen is incredible. Even with that workload on top of the heavy ice time he’s had for 18 games, he still controlled the play when he was on. Am glad, for he Oilers’ sake, that he doesn’t have a Bouchard or Makar level shot.
This also partly explains why things looked so lop-sided – DeBoer rightly went all in.
No he didn’t. He got absolutely walked by McDavid. A very good reminder that you can dictate play, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you do something with it.
That was more a problem with a leftie being forced to play the right side. Why? Because Tanev who normally would be there, was in the box. Connor recognized it and took advantage of a leftie not being able to get a stick on the puck. Nor is that typically how “walked” is applied. Just sayin.
Yeah, Tanev was in the box. Sure, McDavid saw something to attack. That said, his move was out of this world. Watch McDavid’s foot-work on that goal. Unbelievable. And at high speed. On TSN, Biron called it a figure skating move that couldn’t be defended. I’ll take that description over simply explaining it away as leftie on the right side. Somehow Kulak wasn’t walked like that.
That was the 2017 recipe for success right there. Goalie plays great, McDavid/PP prowess. I think they are entitled to one win like that, given all of the shitty luck endured along the way these first few rounds.
Florida, on the surface, their forward depth seems a lot like Dallas. Although its more of a 1 2A/2B situation. Committee D, it appears. Should be a great series
Yeah except for 1 important thing,
The 2017 Oilers could never math the defensive dominance we are currently witnessing
Some observations:
Was anybody on the Stars below 70% Corsi tonight?
I’d have to look again, but probably not many. But Miro was on the ice for over half the game and still absolutely dominated. I think I’d take him over Quinn Hughes easily.
Was beyond stressed in the third and then my 3 year old jumped on me and got in my face. Was a great reminder to enjoy the journey and everything will be ok. Let’s enjoy this we deserve it!!
Extremely emotional watching the ending with my wife and 9 year old son.
Back in ’06, I had just finished first year med school and was living just off Whyte in Shawn Horcoff’s old condo. Time flies, and even this accomplishment should be savoured
I was living on Whyte @ 99th at the apartment building behind the gas station. My car was broken into after the WCF win and they took off my with Iron Maiden s/t cassette tape in my ’86 Ford Taurus!
Hilarious! We didn’t even know at that point that one day all of our music would be streamed from our phones! I had a palm treo, and still have some of the grainiest photos from these games that I thought were brilliant
Love how the Iron Maiden cassette gets as much sense of loss as the Ford Taurus. I probably would’ve felt the same way.
— was dating my “hottie” to become wife in 06. I liked your post. Life is fast. There are markers we get to reflect on. Fast forward 4 kids later here we are. Again. Finally. Trying to explain the playoff format to my 4 year old.
— Cool story : I’m in Denver playing a cool invite golf tourney at this place called Sanctuary: built by the founder of Remax: a client invited me.
— Went to steakhouse Shanahans tonight. Coach Mike was there. Chatted up his wife who is lovely. Have photo of me and my buddy and Mike and his wife. Convinced him (via his wife who said come on Mike do it for these guys!) to take the Lombardy trophy out of case with the 4 of us ….
— Marts red wine monster Colorado steaks with game on no sound. Great evening
— Don’t know if I can go to Edmonton but definitely a game in Miami.
— Old enough to remember the 80s Oilers : thinking they would win every year ..
GOILERS!!!
Might also add, I think I may finally have shed some of the PTSD from perpetually losing to Dallas in the playoffs. Remember listening to KISS on the radio, hoping this year was going to be different? Hoping for a repeat of the 1997 magic? I do, and slaying this dragon was cathartic
Zubov is on our team now! and his name is BOUCHARD!
The Oilers win the pennant! The Oilers win the pennant!!
(For LT)
Congratulations to the Edmonton Oilers.
Not the best way to close a series out, nobody cares if it’s pretty though.
a lot of players do come flooding back.
I feel terrible for Oscar Klefbom, he out of any former Oiler deserves to be here.
Not sure whether Colby Cave would have still been on this squad, but if the Oilers win the Cup, methinks it should make a visit to his wife Emily.
And, who knows what could’ve been but let’s at least light a Stanley shaped candle for Kristians Pelss too.
I feel like Taylor Hall would be the one for me. He endured so much, gave his heart to the club, and then got a taste of life with McDavid before being dumped on the side of the road.
Klefbom for sure is another very worthy candidate, even moreso because we were robbed of an entire career, here or elsewhere. Eberle, Cogliano (although he got his success), and Dubnyk would be the other ones on my list
Klef was my favourite Oiler when he was here. Before him, Eberle.
Reading Calgary puck for the salty tears. Apparently the Oilers are “frauds and a disgrace because of there whining and diving”. Also apparently the refs are totally on the Oilers side calling ticky-tack calls
Wow. The hate blinders are strong in Calgary.
GO OILERS GO!
WE WANT THE CUP!!
Flamers gonna Flaime.
3 PP for Dallas. 2 for Oilers.
I find it delicious that now they gotta cheer for Tkachuk and Bennett who traumatically rejected them like a baby reindeer.
Good times.
2 of my buddies, big flames fans, have been on board with Oilers since game 1 vs LA.
The stuff some Calgary Puck members write makes me genuinely concerned about their mental health.
It’s like they are the internet equivalent of the Baby Reindeer lady with her delusions and craziness.
That was my first playoff game live being a fan since 1990. What a game i loved it!!
Mcdavids goal looked impossible from where i was sitting!
I was also lucky enough to be in the building tonight. I’m going to be absolutely useless at work tomorrow and I don’t care.
LA is the only team we faced or are about to face in this playoff with which we had a winning regular season record. LA. 2RW 1 SOW and 1 RL. Vancouver 4 RL, Dallas 2RL and 1 OTW, next up Florida 2RL. Both losses to Florida were before Dec 17, before our 8 game and 16 game winning streaks. Regular season really does mean nothing come playoffs! Time to neuter the Cats ..
An extra bonus!
First time in forever Florida Panthers have crossed my mind… anyone know why they are called the panthers?!?? Is there even a panther in the state of Florida??? Hate them already
Lol. Right!?
There is, actually. It’s a subspecies of cougar.
thank you. Learned something new today. Still hate them
I call them the shit cats.
They also have a particularly cowardly and scummy species of Turtle down there. Known as the slowest of all Turtles. It feeds primarily on fecal matter. Very rare. Only ever spotted in Calgary and Florida…
This train is bound for glory.
Don’t carry nothing, but the righteous and the holy.
The Oilers first-rounder which was dealt to Anaheim will be either #31 or #32.
And we got to be the team that killed 2/3 of Calgary’s conditional picks this year! No Lindholm pick upgrade and no extra pick for Tanev. It is a good day.
Yeah, but will we have to give Calgary a 2nd round pick now?
An Oilers Cup win would also trigger conditions in the trade what brought Henrique and Carrick:
-The 5th in ’25 to ANA would become a 4th.
-The 4th in ’25 to TB would get punted to ’26.
I look forward to these vesting.
This. Is. Awesome. They likely wouldn’t have amounted to anything anyway, but anything to twist the dagger into the Flames is always welcome.
Stuart Skinner man… there was a point where the whole world doubted him and he proved everyone wrong!! Guy has some serious mental toughness. Kudos to the coaching staff for giving him that reset and then having faith to put him back in even after Pickard played great for two games.
Not the whole world.
LT and me and Stu’s mom.
I’ll jump on this self-aggrandizing train! I, too, am a non-doubter.
hats Off to you. Your loyalty paid off!
Been a fan of his since he won the Ed Chynoweth trophy with Swift Current in 2018. I figured he would get to this level, it was just a matter of time and patience.
0.971 … just nuts! Four more please.
BELIEVE
Watched that entirety of that game at the bar of an Oceanside resort (not one I’m staying at), in the Turks and Caicos where we got them to put the game and sound on. Here for a geology course which starts tomorrow. Needless to say, this was a great way to watch a game and I’m feeling very fortunate.
4 more!
Kane didn’t play a shift in the third period. Hopefully the many days before the Final will help his sports hernia heal up.
On a positive note he was smiling ear to ear on the conference championship photo.
Well done boys
Let’s goooo! So happy for the crowd here, especially our intrepid host.
I can’t wait to see what mode McDavid activates now that he’s finally in the Stanley Cup Finals.
That’s a huge relief
They deserved a different end of game, but I am so happy that it’s done
Rest and refocus, and please don’t play another game like that
Glory awaits
Everyone glad Oilers are going to the final except Hrudrey but once it sinks in that the Oilers are facing his idols Tkachuk and Bennett he’ll be full Panther mode.
Finals baby!! Enjoy it LT!!!
Mud and Bieksa going high school is so terrible
Only took 18 years. The 2006 do-over has arrived.
vs a deep south team no less.
Heard Roloson was in the building tonight… hope’s giving tips to the Oilers D about safely clearing the crease…
I went to game 4 (we lost 2-1), got married, finished grad school, and started my career in 2006. 3 kids later Oilers in finals again, Oilers are my life clock.
As a 45 year old man, I can say a part is still stuck in late summer of 2006. It would be something to exorcise that demon.
A lot of teams say they can beat you in different ways, but this team really can beat you so many different ways.
Apparently Tanev broke his other ankle on the McDavid goal.
Tough to do considering Tanev was sitting in the penalty box at the time, but such are the powers of McDeity.
Three vanquished foes lay battered, bloodied and beaten. Fk them all. I spit on their graves.
Stuey with a ‘Hold My Beer’ game at the moment the team needed it the most. He is a fantastic, young (and still developing) goaltender. What a performance.
Four more…
Might have been asked.
In skinner interview he referenced mcdavids pp goal
“The goal ____ scored was …”
Did he say “Davo”??? Did i hear thet right? Genuinely curious if my ears work….
yes, Dave-O
If you have instagram, coach.chippy has a series of hilarious re-creations of post-game locker room interactions. In the Oilers’ ones (definitely worth a watch), he repeatedly uses the nickname ‘Davo’ and I have literally never once heard anyone on the team call him that!
Apparently that’s his team nickname! Its come out a few times, I think Draisaitl used it first in an interview a year or two ago, but I could be wrong!
The way the PK has been playing, I don’t know why they didn’t just take 10 straight penalties once the 3rd started
Honestly, I almost felt better when they took the penalty.
Kinda hoped the (expected) kill would give us some momentum. It didn’t, but still, we gave up fewer PP goals than EV goals.
The oilers smothered the chances of Dallas winning the series by killing mcd’s 4 minute penalty in the overtime of the very first game of the series.
We’re going streaking
Play La Bamba Baby!!!!!
We take Canucks record for fewest shots in playoffs history. Biggest shot differential in Western Conference finals. Stuart Skinner man. If he plays like this all the way then I’m feeling very postive.
Glad the Oilers get five days off, they need it.
McDavid getting that ridiculous highlight goal against Heiskanen and Oettinger in WCF elimination game is something else.
This is where the word elite applies.
Finals bound. Finally.
Remember the ‘06 run sitting up in Red Earth with my youngest brother and best buddy JJ(RIP). What an experience.
Thanks LT, Ziggy and everyone on the blog! Been a good, long journey to this marker in time.
Lets Go Oilers!!!
Lost my older brother in the fall of 06 and he was the biggest Oil fan I’ve ever met. Funny to think of what’s changed 18 hears later and where our thoughts go at special moments like these.
Thank you for all the work/words, Al. Wow.
This 1000 times. There was a while towards the end of the DoD that I was more a fan of this blog than of the Oilers. Lowetide kept pulling me back in, thankfully.
Dido – Seems like a lifetime ago. LT kept the light on
I can’t find it now, but LT’s write-up when the Oilers went up against the Taylor Hall Devils where he referenced Pike’s Peak felt like coming out of a dark tunnel. Some of the best writing in Alberta, imo.
Love this site. It’s my first read every day, partly because I love the Oilers and partly because I love humanity. Al, your words bring the humanity to a space where it’s sometimes forgotten. Was electric in the building tonight… the hockey was good but it’s the shared experience we will talk about for decades. This website has been a shared experience for many of us for many years, and we can’t thank you enough, Al.