For the 12th time in franchise history, the Edmonton Oilers will play in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Playoffs series, when they take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Monday (May 20).
Edmonton forced this winner-take-all contest by tying the second round series at three wins apiece with a 5-1 triumph over Vancouver at Rogers Place on Saturday (May 18).
Related: Oilers Force Game 7 Against Canucks
The Oilers are 7-4 all-time in Game 7, including 3-3 on the road and 2-1 in Round 2 of the postseason. Edmonton’s winner-take-all history ranges from the infamous to the iconic.
Over the course of Edmonton’s 11 prior Game 7s, many heroes have emerged for the Oilers and become immortalized in franchise history. Here are the top seven:
7. Mike Smith
In the Oilers’ most recent Game 7 outing, goaltender Mike Smith backstopped Edmonton to a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place on May 14, 2022.
Smith was sharp from start to finish, stopping all 29 Kings’ shots to earn Edmonton’s second-ever Game 7 shutout. The veteran goalie made 11 saves in each of the second and third periods, as Edmonton clung to a 1-0 lead for much of the second half of the game.
6. Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid factored in all the scoring during Edmonton’s 2-0 Game 7 victory over the Kings in 2022, assisting on Cody Ceci’s game-winner in the second period, before scoring a massive insurance goal on a tremendous individual effort with just 3:53 remaining in the third.
With more than 18,000 fans on edge watching the Oilers trying to hang on for victory, McDavid took the puck and drove behind the Kings net on a delayed penalty. He then tried a wrap-around that was stopped by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, but gathered the rebound and backhanded the puck into the back of the net with 3:53 left on the clock, sending Rogers Place into a frenzy.
5. Grant Fuhr
Goaltender Grant Fuhr played in five Game 7s with the Oilers, compiling a 3-2 record. The Hall-of-Famer was between the pipes for Edmonton’s first-ever Game 7, a 7-4 victory over the Calgary Flames in the 1984 Smythe Division Final at Northlands Coliseum on April 22,1984.
But Fuhr’s greatest Game 7 performance came in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final, when he bounced back after allowing a goal just 1:41 into the first period and went on to make 19 saves in Edmonton’s championship-winning 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Northlands Coliseum on May 31, 1987.
4. Jari Kurri
Finnish winger Jari Kurri notched the…
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