NFL
By: Greg Rector
The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in any sport. This Stanley Cup final will also see the two teams travel farther than they have ever traveled before. Three thousand sixteen miles between the two teams is a long flight.
Make no mistake about who this writer wants to win the Stanley Cup. I have cheered for the Edmonton Oilers since they were the Alberta Oilers in the old World Hockey League, and my cousin took me to the second game they played. So, pardon my lack of wanting to see the Stanley Cup return to a Canadian city.
I wrote about the Edmonton Oilers in past NHL seasons. I have always said the same thing since Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatl led the Oilers; they were both fantastic, but the team lacked the defensive intensity needed to win a Stanley Cup.
McDavid said after the win against the Dallas Stars,
“When the horn went off, that’s the loudest I ever heard it,” McDavid told Sportsnet amid the on-ice postgame celebration as Edmonton fans repeatedly chanted, “We want the Cup.”
This time, they have played precisely the way Stanley Cup champions should. When they beat the Dallas Stars in game six of the Western Conference Finals, they had just ten shots on goal, the fewest shots to win a game in Stanley Cup playoff history. Watching that game was terrific, especially since I have watched the mighty Edmonton Oilers teams of the past.
When the old Edmonton Oilers first appeared in a Stanley Cup finals, they lost to the New York Islanders, and then the very next season, they came back and beat the Islanders by beating them defensively.
My one disappointment in this Stanley Cup Finals is that they play the Florida Panthers and not the New York Rangers, so I can humiliate Monte Perez, a huge Rangers fan.
My pride in the Edmonton Oilers means that outside of Montreal, where hockey is a religion, the best fans in the game come from the capital city of Alberta. Have you never listened to Oh Canada sung by an entire crowd? Well, my American friends prepared for Robert Clark to sing The Star Spangled Banner correctly (I say this as a former Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant) and then listened to an entire crowd sing Oh Canada. They will not riot like the fans in Vancouver did both times they have been to the finals this century. The same applies to the Calgary Flames fans who tore about The Red Mile when they last played in the Stanley Cup finals.
It will be even louder when the Edmonton Oilers play the Florida Panthers in game three at Rogers Place Arena.
I have waited for another Edmonton Oilers appearance in the Stanley Cup for eighteen long seasons. The Oilers were robbed by a goofy call against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
EDMONTON OILERS
Much like great Edmonton Oilers teams of the eighties, this Oilers squad has a goaltender from Edmonton. Stuart Skinner saw Dwayne Roloson play goaltender for the Oilers in their only appearance in a Stanley Cup finals.
Skinner missed two games against the Vancouver Canucks, and since his return, he has been phenomenal. Since head coach Kris Knoblach took over the Edmonton Oilers after their horrendous 3-9-1 start, he has shown confidence in Stuart Skinner. Skinner has won big games for the Oilers and must continue to do so. The Edmonton Oilers were 44-15-5 the rest of the way, leading the league in goals (239) and goal differential (plus-76).
Ryan Nugent Hopkins has played for the Edmonton Oilers since he was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft. It will be a joy to see him finally play in the Stanley Cup.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight season. They are a very good hockey team. They have been here and have a home-ice advantage. They also lead the league in having the most penalties called against them.
If the Edmonton Oilers power play with McDavid, Drasaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins comes out and plays the way it has all season long, the Panthers will lose the series. Matthew Tkachuk has been well-behaved and must remain so.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been excellent in the net for the Panthers, yet Skinner has been the better goaltender since the Conference Finals. As you saw above, he has been on the best team in hockey in the last six months.
The Panthers’ weakness is their head coach, Paul Maurice. Maurice led the Winnipeg Jets for several seasons and had much more talent with Winnipeg than many realize. While making the Panthers a contending team has been great for the Floridians, they will be hard-pressed to beat this Edmonton Oilers squad.
My Prediction
Of course, I am selecting the Edmonton Oilers to bring the Stanley Cup back to a Canadian city since the last time it happened thirty-one seasons ago when the Montreal Canadiens last won the Stanley Cup.
I have the Edmonton Oilers winning the Stanley Cup in six games. It will be so sweet to see the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup at home and to see Edmontonians celebrate the right way. As I said earlier in this article, my pride is on full display, and to see a sixth Stanley Cup victory will be a very joyous occasion for this fan of the Edmonton Oilers.
One final shot taken by Zach Hyman, an ex-Toronto Maple Leaf, “I don’t know if Toronto is cheering for us,” said the NHL’s post-season goal-scoring leader. “But it’s nice to know Ottawa is. Hockey means so much to Canada and Canadians, and it’s been a long time since a Canadian team has won the Cup, so it would mean a lot to Canadians whether they’re Oiler fans or not, I’m sure. Some pride over the Americans is pretty cool to hear.”
The final shot goes to the bossman here at TEAMNBSMEDIA, a lifelong sufferer of Make Believe Disease. It is directed at Joe Cardoso.
#LetsGoOilers
