I remember each Final appearance for specific reasons. You can’t anticipate why moments are important, but witnessing them, followed by speaking them into existence, gives those moments elevated status in memory and the mind’s eye.
The 1983 team played well in all four games, but were swept by the New York Islanders. Looking back, they just weren’t ready for that moment. The Oilers scored just six goals in the four games, only Jari Kurri (3) scoring more than one. My mood remained positive. How could the Oilers possibly be denied a Stanley? The only question surrounded what year the club would win it all.
In 1984, I knew they’d win Game 5 and the Stanley. After two Gretzky (Kurri), Ken Linseman scored on the power play. Lorne Starko lept from the old sofa, and we knew. Except that blasted Pat Lafontaine scored twice early in the third period to raise the anxiety level. Lumley’s ENG landed right in the middle of the net from 190 feet away, and the elation of watching your team win everything was underway.
The 1985 win was a breeze, five games and an 8-3 score in the clincher versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The third period of that final game took one forever. Dave Brown remains a legend in these parts, an absolute monster toe-to-toe. He played on the wrong side that night, but you could see why he roamed NHL ice all the same.
The 1987 Final is my all-time favourite, simply because it took seven games to win and it was so intense. For my money the 1987 Oilers were the best in NHL history, but the Flyers took them to the limit. It wasn’t until Glenn Anderson scored very late to make it 3-1 that the nation could breathe again. Gives me chills to this day.
It was all business for the 1988 Final, Edmonton in 5 over the Boston Bruins. The memorable parts of this series included the Oilers winning four in a row, because of a 3-3 tie that ended due to a power outage at the Boston Garden.
The 1990 team was an outlier. Gretzky was gone, many new kids arrived, Bill Ranford was lights out after an early wobble versus the Winnipeg Jets. The Final included several great moments, my strongest memories are of Craig Simpson’s ability to post offense. He scored 16 goals in the playoffs that spring. Simply incredible. However, even with that kind of firepower, Ranford won the Smythe on merit.
The 2006 team remains special to me in a way the 1983 club never managed. It was a one-off, but a glorious spring. Chris Pronger had what I still maintain was the finest season by an Oilers defenseman in the club’s history. He was an absolute monster on the blue line. Heartbreaking trade followed the heartbreaking Game 7. Fernando Pisani was outrageous and should never be forgotten.
The 2024 Oilers also lost in seven games, but I am more hopeful they will win a Stanley. Perhaps it is this year. It certainly feels like it. There was a time when I’d chime in with verbal about why these Oilers will win, and I am picking them for Stanley against the Florida Panthers in 2025. You should know I picked them in 2023 and 2024, too, and suspect I’ll pick them again.
The 2020’s McDavid Oilers do not have a championship, but I have the same feeling about this version of the team as I felt about the 1983 Oilers in the aftermath of their loss. It’s only a matter of time. Maybe it’s this time.
The original sin of the 2015 draft (sending away picks that would have fetched difference makers for also-rans and never-weres) has finally been defeated. Giants walk among us, and this time they have enough support to reach the promised land. Bless you boys. Godspeed.
Today on the Lowdown (noon on Sports 1440) we’ll set the stage for Stanley Cup Final 2025. Kevin McCurdy will join us, and Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic will give us the latest from the rink. This is why sports is the best. We have no idea what will happen tonight. Only that it matters.
I loathe to bring up a contentious point on this glorious morning, but it needs to be made…
The Edmonton Oilers coaching staff were 100% right to challenge the Panthers first goal. Glad to see KK defend the decision to challenge post game.
The NHL and their employees neglected to actually review the play and decided to get the Florida Panthers in a game they were being dominated.
There was clear incidental contact that impeded the the goalie from making the save. That contact occurred inside the crease. That is a factual statement. We have all seen Oilers goals taken away for less.
Kulak’s skate is relatively stationary. Bennett is fully responsible for the contact. Whether it was accidently or accidently on purpose is irrelevant.
If the media or the players do anything more than question the call they get fined or fired.
The NHL will not defend the call because they cannot. A previous precedent has been set and ignored. The NHL have insulated themselves from accountability.
IMO The NHLPA has to wrestle the oversight of Player Safety and Officiating away from the owners in the upcoming CBA. Full Stop. End rant.
Agreed. The boys need to file that away in the memory bank for another time in the series. The precedent has been set. Perry was in front and performed acrobatics to avoid contact with Bobrovsky, maybe next time he doesn’t π
No, play it straight, you know that call goes against us.
Bennet knew exactly what he was doing. He actually could have been penalized for interfering with Walman before he “accidentally ” fell into Skinner. Oilers will have to defeat Panthers and NHL establishment to win the cup.
TOI distribution on the backend is absolutely GORGEOUS!
Bouchard 31:51
Ekholm 25:19
Nurse 25:04
Kulak 25:03
Klingberg 23:30
Walman 23:07
It’s just beautiful to have a third pairing that’s a second pairing.
Some of us remember the 2006 run. At least 10 minutes a game, you had to send over the boards Matt Greene and Marc-Andre Bergeron. Every moment they were on the ice at ES, I was worried we would surrender a goal.
I’m not sure we’ve ever had defensive depth like this before.
Or, you know, drive an opposing player into your goaltender fundamentally shifting the series in a way that provided Carolina an insurmountable advantage.
They probably didnβt show it, but Kasperi was absolutely jacked for his third star moment. The crowd loved it.
Was at the game. He was intense.
It looks like ?every? Oiler skater has a goal in the playoffs. i.e. the only Oilers without goals were not in the lineup.
Stech, Emberson, J Brown?
Hot take: Holloway and Foegele couldnβt have played as well as Kapanen, Podkolzin, or Arvidsson did tonight. And Broberg wouldnβt have made tonightβs lineup.
On the flip side, Holloway would have made the lineup while Skinner is still a call up
Too true. It took a year to get here, but the whole thing makes sense today in a way it just didn’t last summer.
Ka$h-peri Kapanen was a monster tonight. ππΌ
He had several river-pushing moments. Must have been a giant headache for Florida.
Four points in his last three games.
What a story his playoffs has been!
Moneypuck has xGF as 4.65 – 3.71 for Edmonton. Matches the eye test that each goalie saved 2/3 a goal above average, and the better team won. However, the model doesnβt account for dirty rats and biased officiatingβ¦
I’m looking at the NHL stats page and I’m noticing a pattern. It seem like almost every year, the teams with rookie NHL playoff scoring leaders lose.
Are there many teams that won the cup that played rookies? I remember the 90’s Oilers with the kid line. Forget if they were rookies then. But they were close.
Bruins played Seguin just over half their playoff games when they won in 2011 at 19. Think Marchand was in his second season that year too but he was a few years older yet.
Skinner was great
Yep. He is tracking the puck so well and looks quick on his crease. You love to see it. I maintain that if he can increase his quickness and athleticism he can be elite. Super pumped for him! Seems to be completely dialed in.
Hits were 51-51.
Interesting splits, though
22-6 D hits favored Florida, while
45-29 F hits favored Edmonton.
Maybe a sign of a better Edmonton forecheck?
The puck spent more time in Floridaβs end. Ozone time matters.
My Dachshund called it. Oilers victory again in game 2.
Hopefully the doggy has us winning wire to wire next game as this was way to stressful.
His main tell is the status of his Oilers jersey when he wakes up in the morning.
Resilience. Thatβs what they showed tonight. Got behind. Found away to fight back. Grabbed another gear and laid waste to their game.
They took over early in the third and pounded them into submission. It took two and a quarter periods but, after that, it was inevitable.
Weβve taken your measure, foriduh, and know your weaknesses, now.
Oilers in four.
I think Florida now knows they’re dealing with a different team this time around. One that can be locked-in on winning the Cup all the time, not just some of the time.
Still, Oilers in four is pretty optimistic. Florida is a good team.
My guess was 5 but I’ll take all the optimism needed
John Klingberg played like a superstar tonight. It was truly something to watch him with the puck while nearly everyone else had struggles. It was beautiful.
He’s been playing this way since the playoffs started
Another level tonight because of the stage and the contrast. Heβs been good. Tonight he was absolutely great.
Itβs amazing how bad some players look while playing injured and then poof Klingberg gets his health back and heβs playing like shades of Dallas.
What an impact on the game. I expected that he would recover but never saw him find his game from 5 years ago.
Was a great interview with him in a swedish paper yesterday. Said last summer he was contemplating whether he would quit as he could barely move in his daily life let alone play hockey. He apparently had so much pain the last few years. And now he’s playing quality hockey in a Stanley Cup Final. I’d like the number to his surgeon.
Hard fought game by all. So glad the refs didnβt end up being the story when by all mean they deserved to be. What a resilient team!
Skinner played really well and Bobrovsky is going to remain a tough nut to crack but we still deserve more bounces.
Defensive depth and 4 line effort kept us in it and the superstars pushed us to the finish line
I like team depth. Team depth is fun. Highly recommend it.
Go you Oilers.
Now Panthers know what Dallas felt like late:
Dallas 4 shots In 3rd last 3 games.
Florida 8 shots total last 2 periods.
All 8 shots felt dangerous
Bennett βI didnβt just fallβ – lol. No – you just skated through a oilers defenseman and fell over his skate. No idea how that goal should have counted.
Good to see the hockey gords make this game
right, I expect the Oilers will be even better in G2.
I’m still in disbelief that goal counted. If any of Hyman, Perry or Kane had done that move we all know the goal wouldn’d have counted.
First time the Oilers have had a series lead in the Cup final since…1990.
We love you Tarkus!
team effort!!!
Forwards under 10 mins of total ice time:
Panthers 3
Oilers 0
Defensemen under 20 minutes of ice time:
Panthers 2
Oilers 0
Depth is fun!
Just like against LA, thatβs going to cost you late in games and into OT
3 more!
I think I heard some crazy stat somewhere that Florida is now 31-1 when leading after first or second period in the playoffs π
lol I was clearly beaten to this joke
Gotta thank HH for bringing this up, right? I think he was trying to motivate us, imo. Good job, bud.
#neverindoubt
I said Oilers in 4, but it could have easily gone the other way tonight. Florida is the best team the Oilers have faced this playoffs.
Destiny is with the Oilers.
What a beauty of an OT winner. And what a beauty of an OT winner Kapanen’s effort would have been. Or Bouchard’s for that matter. Never in doubt in deed.
They took that OT over about 5 minutes into it; never looked back. That was just a spectacular game from line one through line four. Just surgical.
was not unlike that Kings OT. not on that level but not apples and oranges either.
I was just amazed in the 3rd and OT. The adjustments the coaching staff made were very noticeable. Something just clicked and their experience and battle level shone through.
SwedishPoster for mayor!
Florida now 30-1 when leading after 2!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!
Hey whatβs Floridaβs win/loss record leading after 2?
Is Walman this generations Roman Hamrlik?
They gutted that game out showing a lot of character. I still hate the delay of game call deciding a OT game but hey we finally are getting some payback from the hockey Gods.
Well, it’s a non-discretionary penalty and the result of the Oilers’ increasing pressure. Podkholzin was amazing on that play.
Also, the Oilers PP, including 90 sec of 4 on 3 was ass until then. Credit to them.
That little backpass by Perry is already legendary.
Skinner becoming Fuhr-esque not letting in the next one
He didn’t have to do a ton afte the 2nd but there were a couple of moments – Stu locked it down!
Early OT was reminiscent of Pickard against Vegas
BIG DRAISAITL ENERGY!!!!!!!
Scored with that yuge tallywacker
I was reading The Athletic and all the prognostications leading into this. Athletic staff all predicting the Oilers, and LeBrun’s article where a surveyed NHL head coaches and execs, and they came out 50/50 Florida to Edmonton.
All the naysayers we’re citing Hyman being out as the difference. All the media, and Eastern watchers are totally missing out on the main storylines. Drai is healthy. Skinner is rolling. No weak links on D. Depth, four lines that can do it all. Kane healthy and a beast.
Sorry that should read The Athletic staff all picked Florida for the most part.
Everything that could go wrong did, and they still kicked their ass for 3 periods.
We are here. It is good.
Florida has to be concerned. They got all the luck (well until that last penalty anyways) and still lost.
Oilers have won 4 of their last 5 playoff games vs. Florida.
Panthers are winless in their last one game when leading after two.
And he shall be Leon
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!!!!!!!
#PlayLaBambaBaby!!
That was game ONE yβAll.
Game One. #topdrawer #fortyproof
Scorey Perry is forgiven for 2017
Coreyβs good. Iβll never forgive that sniveling official or his corrupt league.
No.
Forgotten for 2017…not forgiven.
Thankfully, we don’t ever have to forget or forgive Kesler.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!!!
McJesus to Pope Leo!!!!
Another comeback win.
Awwwwww man.
That was sweet.
HORNY TIME!!!
BOOM!!! Drai with the kill shot!!!
So about that 31-0 record Panthers have……….
These Oilers are streak breakers!! 30 and 1 now
ALL HAIL POPE LEON!!! π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨π¨
#NeverInDoubt
Three more, please.
Take that you F**KING Rats!!!!!
This PP hasn’t bothered anyone all night
Give it a minute.
I did. solid.
Can someone please tell me why Leon gets thrown out of the circle literally every single draw?
Supposedly because he tries cheating on the draw when McDavidβs out there because if he gets tossed Conor is good on the draw too. I just think the linesman wants more camera time for his family to see him.