Oil Canada.
This season’s Edmonton Oilers have proven to be the best hope to end the Great White North’s Stanley Cup drought.
As of now, three of the six squads still remaining in the chase for hockey’s holy grail are from north of the border. But let’s be real—of the Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs, which has the poutine-covered moxie to become the first Canada-based team since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens to sip from Lord Stanley’s mug?
The Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the regular-season champions, head into Saturday’s Game 6 of their conference semifinal series with the Dallas Stars down 3-2 and must somehow find a way to win a road game just to force a deciding Game 7. The odds are not in their favor (or favour for their fans).
The Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to send their series against the defending Cup champion Florida Panthers to a seventh game, having recovered from losing three straight contests with a 2-0 road victory Friday night.
Sure, the Maple Leafs could reach the conference finals for the first time since 2002. Just when they were poised for elimination, they pulled off a huge victory sparked by Auston Matthews’ first goal of the series and sealed by Joseph Woll’s first career playoff shutout.
But being the Maple Leafs, losing yet another Game 7 would be apropos for a franchise and fan base that last saw their team win a Cup in 1967.
Which brings us back to the Oilers, who made short work of the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, needing only five games to dispatch the Pacific Division champs.
For those who believe the process to winning a Stanley Cup is best served by a loss in the final, the Oilers are your team. Remember, this squad fell to the Panthers in Game 7 last season—a series Edmonton trailed 3-0 before rattling off a trio of wins to force a winner-take-all showdown, only to fall short to a Panthers team that had suffered Stanley Cup Final heartbreak the year before.
That experience is only part of the equation for the Oilers, who last won a Cup in 1990. Their dynamic offensive duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are big-time players showing their dominance in the biggest situations. No surprise there.
The difference now is how Edmonton has become a more complete team, with actual scoring depth. Sure, McDavid and Draisaitl lead the way offensively, but contributions no longer end with them and offensive defenseman Evan Bouchard.
Corey Perry, who turned 40 this week, has somehow found the fountain of youth. Evander Kane, after missing all of the regular season, has rounded into form and built momentum as the playoffs have continued. Connor Brown gives the Oilers the size and depth scoring punch that often makes the difference along the way.
Oh yeah—they also continue to enjoy having Swiss Army knife forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and kamikaze scoring machine Zach Hyman in their top lines.
All of that depth is why the Oilers don’t need to rely so heavily on their power play to succeed, unlike a year ago—even when they’ve pulled off comeback victories.
Then comes another huge key that adds more pop to Edmonton’s chances: After floundering in the first few games of the playoffs, goaltender Stuart Skinner heads into the Western Conference final riding consecutive shutouts. Skinner’s confidence—and the team’s faith in him—can’t be missed.
There remains a long way to go before the Stanley Cup is hoisted. But brace yourself for the moment it’s lifted by the Oilers—and makes its way to Canada, tariff-free.
