The Edmonton Oilers are dragging the Florida Panthers back to Florida for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
The Oilers secured their third win in a row in the best-of-seven series Friday, beating the Panthers 5-1 on home ice.
The Edmonton Oilers’ run is bringing people together — from here and abroad.
Christian Hügel, a devoted Oilers fan originally from Germany who now resides in Switzerland, was walking around outside Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Fla., before Game 5 on Tuesday, when he crossed paths with Mike Reimer and Nancy Lavoie.
The men high-fived. The trio saw each other again later and, after the Oilers’ victory, went out for a beer. Eventually, the Edmontonians offered Hügel to stay with them to attend Game 6.
“It was not planned to stay with them. It was just a coincidence,” said Hügel, who landed in Edmonton at 3 a.m. Friday.
“Our connection was not based on too much beer — it comes from the heart.”
Reimer saw Hügel’s passion for their team — a brother in arms in Oilers Nation, despite their different nationalities.
“He has bled Oiler-blue like I have,” Reimer said. “It has been 18 years since we’ve been to the final. This is where we can all separate our politics and come together as fans.”
Captain Connor McDavid stated the mission and the Edmonton Oilers completed it: they dragged the Florida Panthers back to Alberta for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final.
After dropping the first three games of the best-of-seven series, the Oilers have now three times fended off the Panthers from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Edmonton is the fourth team in NHL history to fall 3-0 in the final and force a Game 6, but only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs ever completed the comeback.
Regardless of the outcome, Friday’s game was the last at Rogers Place this season. Lord Stanley’s mug was in the building — but Oilers Nation celebrated as it won’t make an appearance until Monday in South Florida.
“Oilers in seven,” Jerry MacLachlan said Thursday, sporting a No. 97…
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