A storybook Stanley Cup win is there for the Edmonton Oilers.
A win away from rewriting some NHL history, the Oilers headed to Florida on Saturday for Monday’s Game 7 that seemed improbable a week earlier.
No team in the NHL’s expansion era has trailed 3-0 in the Stanley Cup final and come back to win the best-of-seven championship.
Only the 1942 Maple Leafs did it 82 years ago. Only four teams in NHL history have trailed a best-of-seven playoff series 3-0 and won it: Toronto (1942), New York Islanders (1975), Philadelphia Flyers (2010) and Los Angeles Kings (2014).
The first Canadian NHL team to win a Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 and Edmonton earning its first Cup in 34 years are among several subplots heading into Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.
The contract clock ticking on Edmonton winning a Cup with the dynamic duo of captain Connor McDavid and centre Leon Draisaitl on the roster is another. Draisaitl has a year remaining on his contract and McDavid two.
The Stanley Cup final will be decided in a seventh game for the 18th time, and the first since the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins in 2019.
While the Oilers have avoided elimination three straight games to go 5-0 in such games this post-season, the Panthers get a fourth and final swing at winning the Cup after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in last year’s final.
WATCH l Henrique scores winner as Oilers take Game 6:
Adam Henrique’s second period goal proved to be the winner as Edmonton defeated Florida 5-1 Friday in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final.
Florida has lost three straight heading into the decider on home ice, including a 5-1 decision in Edmonton in Friday’s Game 6, but Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch would not claim the upper hand in his team having fewer nerves or jitters because of that.
“I don’t know what goes on in Florida, I don’t know how they handle things, so I don’t think it’s fair for me to comment on where they sit,” he said Saturday.
“My experience with my team, how we’ve handled elimination games, we’ve been through some difficult times. We had two elimination games against Vancouver and I have a lot of confidence in our team on how they responded and played in those games.
“When we got into the situation to be down three zero against Florida in this series, I saw a very confident group where there’s no panic, no desperation, just a very focused mentality.
“I liked our team…
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