3 thoughts on the Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is here. The Edmonton Oilers are set to take on the Florida Panthers in what promises to be a wonderful battle of two great teams.
Each franchise has a lot riding on this championship but only one will win. It is a battle of great skill that contrasts well. All of the hockey world will be in awe while watching how great they match up.
A lot of big things could happen in this series and the anticipation is through the roof. These are the three biggest storylines to think about while watching the series:
Connor McDavid is finally playing in the Stanley Cup Final
The Edmonton Oilers have been building toward this moment for a long time. It all started when they selected Connor McDavid with the first pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
It didn’t take long for him to overtake Sidney Crosby as the best player in the NHL. He remains the best player to this day (and it’s not particularly close.
The all-time greats always make it to the Stanley Cup Final a handful of times while trying to win it here and there. Now, McDavid has a chance at his first.
He is entering the Stanley Cup Final as the leading scorer in the playoffs. The Conn Smythe is within reach as well which would add even more to his legacy. Special players do special things and McDavid is certainly special.
Watching a guy of his caliber play on a stage like this is amazing. He is going to dominate all of the headlines as the league’s marquee player has a chance to win a Cup playing for the team that Wayne Gretzky played for.
The Edmonton Oilers can finally win for the entire country of Canada
The Edmonton Oilers are one of seven Canadian teams. Between them and the other six, they’ve had a couple of Stanley Cup Final appearances but nobody has won since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
The entire country is counting on the Oilers to get it done so the Stanley Cup can truly return to Edmonton. Although every team is loaded with Canadians, Americans, and Europeans, the fanbases in North America have a little bit of country pride.
Connor McDavid is Canada’s top guy right now but he hasn’t been able to participate in best-on-best while wearing the Canada jersey yet. That is coming soon but you best believe that he would take pride in winning this cup for Canada.
Very few places appreciate the game of hockey more than the country of Canada as a whole. Edmonton is going to be rocking when they are hosting games in this series. A lot of focus will be put on that and how it impacts the games.
The Florida Panthers are still looking for their first Stanley Cup
Not every team in the NHL has won a Stanley Cup. Although it has been a while, the Oilers have won a bunch. A team like Florida does not have that kind of history.
This is Florida’s third time in the Final and second time in a row. Last year, they went on a magical run but were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Vegas was a team of destiny in a lot of ways and Florida just ran out of gas by the final series. It allowed them to come into this year focused and determined which they took full advantage of.
If Florida gets it done there, they will forever be the first Stanley Cup Champions in the history of the franchise. That is a special notion to have.
They have special players as well who deserve to be winners. At the end of the day, they are winners no matter what happens but they'd like to give the state of Florida another championship. Between them and the Tampa Bay Lightning, they've done a lot for the state.