The Stanley Cup might be hoisted in South Florida on Monday night time with both rat-loving Panthers followers celebrating their first title or Edmonton Oilers devoted toasting the prized trophy’s long-awaited return to Canada.
Edmonton is in search of to change into solely the fifth workforce in NHL historical past to rally from a 3-0 collection deficit after they take the ice at Amerant Financial institution Area in Dawn, Florida.
Oilers and Panthers meet in Recreation 7 of the Stanley Cup finals
- Protection on ABC begins at 8 p.m. EDT
- Edmonton appears to change into the fifth NHL workforce ever to come back again all the best way from a 3-0 playoff collection deficit.
- Oddsmakers have pegged the sport as a digital tossup regardless of Florida having fun with home-ice benefit.
- Oilers participant to observe: Connor McDavid someway did not even register a shot on purpose in his workforce’s 5-1 win in Recreation 6.
- Panthers participant to observe: Sergei Bobrovsky gave up 4 targets in 86 pictures (.953 save proportion) in Video games 1-3; has surrendered 12 in 58 (.793) in Video games 4-6.
Simply 1 1/2 weeks in the past, the Panthers appeared invincible, following their 4-3 victory at Edmonton in Recreation 3, giving them a 3-0 collection lead.
The high-power Oilers, who scored the fourth most targets in hockey this previous common season, had solely put 4 pucks previous Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in these first three video games.
However these first three contests have regarded nothing like Video games 4, 5 and 6 as Edmonton has run roughshod over Florida, scoring 18 to power this decisive sport.
5 groups have rallied from a 3-0 gap to win a best-of-7 playoff collection in NHL historical past: The Toronto Maple Leafs (1942), New York Islanders (1975), Philadelphia Flyers (2010) and Los Angeles Kings (2014). The Leafs’ feat got here in that 12 months’s Stanley Cup finals.
But when historical past is any decide, any momentum gained from wins in Video games 4-6 usually ends when the puck drops in Recreation 7. Whereas 4 groups have come again from a 3-0 deficit, 5 different 0-3 squads have pressured a Recreation 7 solely to lose the winner-take-off contest.
The Detroit Purple Wings (2011, 1945), Chicago Blackhawks (2011), the Islanders (1975) and New York Rangers (1939) all gallantly fought again earlier than dropping a Recreation 7. The 1975 Islanders pulled the 3-0 miracle in a quarterfinal collection in opposition to the Pittsburgh Penguins and almost pulled off the identical feat within the semifinals in opposition to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier than falling in Recreation 7.
An Edmonton win on Monday night time would convey the Stanley Cup house to Canada for the primary time since 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens received all of it.
A Canadian workforce has made the Stanley Cup ultimate six occasions because the 1993 Habs, solely to fall brief in opposition to a U.S.-based membership.
Panthers followers, armed with toy rats, hope to maintain Canada’s Cup-less streak going for at the least another 12 months. Florida final got here this near lifting Lord Stanley’s famed chalice in 1996, making the Stanley Cup finals earlier than shedding to the Colorado Avalanche.
Earlier that season, Panthers ahead Scott Mellanby killed a rat in Florida’s dressing room after which scored two targets later that night time. The rat turned a logo of the workforce as Florida made it to the Cup ultimate in 1996, which was coincidentally the lunar 12 months of the rat.