The Stanley Cup shall be hoisted in South Florida on Monday evening 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 group in NHL historical past to rally from a 3-0 collection deficit after they take the ice at Amerant Financial institution Enviornment in Dawn, Florida.
Oilers and Panthers meet in Sport 7 of the Stanley Cup finals
- Protection on ABC begins at 8 p.m. EDT
- Edmonton seems to be to change into the fifth NHL group ever to return 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 one way or the other did not even register a shot on aim in his group’s 5-1 win in Sport 6.
- Panthers participant to observe: Sergei Bobrovsky gave up 4 objectives 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 Sport 3, giving them a 3-0 collection lead.
The high-power Oilers, who scored the fourth most objectives 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 appeared nothing like Video games 4, 5 and 6 as Edmonton has run roughshod over Florida, scoring 18 to drive this decisive recreation.
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 yr’s Stanley Cup finals.
But when historical past is any choose, any momentum gained from wins in Video games 4-6 typically ends when the puck drops in Sport 7. Whereas 4 groups have come again from a 3-0 deficit, 5 different 0-3 squads have compelled a Sport 7 solely to lose the winner-take-off contest.
The Detroit Pink Wings (2011, 1945), Chicago Blackhawks (2011), the Islanders (1975) and New York Rangers (1939) all gallantly fought again earlier than dropping a Sport 7. The 1975 Islanders pulled the 3-0 miracle in a quarterfinal collection in opposition to the Pittsburgh Penguins and practically pulled off the identical feat within the semifinals in opposition to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier than falling in Sport 7.
An Edmonton win on Monday evening would convey the Stanley Cup house to Canada for the primary time since 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens gained all of it.
A Canadian group has made the Stanley Cup remaining six instances for the reason that 1993 Habs, solely to fall quick in opposition to a U.S.-based membership.
Panthers followers, armed with toy rats, hope to maintain Canada’s Cup-less streak going for no less than yet another yr. Florida final got here this near lifting Lord Stanley’s famed chalice in 1996, making the Stanley Cup finals earlier than dropping to the Colorado Avalanche.
Earlier that season, Panthers ahead Scott Mellanby killed a rat in Florida’s dressing room after which scored two objectives later that evening. The rat grew to become an emblem of the group as Florida made it to the Cup remaining in 1996, which was coincidentally the lunar yr of the rat.