Cup or Bust: The toughest task is yet to come for the Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers find themselves just four wins away from winning the Stanley Cup, the first in the Connor McDavid era and the first since 1990.

The toughest task is yet to come for the Edmonton Oilers.

In Connor McDavid's tenure with the Edmonton Oilers the team has made the playoffs six times if we include the COVID season in 2020 where they lost to the Blackhawks in the qualifying round.

The furthest the Oilers have gone with McDavid up to this point was the Conference Finals in 2022 when they were swept at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

After last year's second round loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the eventual Stanley Cup Champs, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl said just a few words at the locker room clean out press available.

"It's cup or bust."

The Oilers find themselves just four wins away from taking home the Stanley Cup, but those four wins might be the hardest ones to earn.

The Florida Panthers have come a long way in just one season. Last year they were the scrappy cinderalla story going from the Wild Card spot all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. This year they look like a team on a mission to win the Cup.

The Oilers have faced some tough competition this postseason. They faced two divisional rivals in the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks and they faced the Dallas Stars, one of the deepest teams the West had to offer.

Edmonton came out on top in all three of those matchups with the entire group stepping up at one point or another to get them here; but the same is true for their opponent.

The Florida Panthers have a deep lineup. This postseason, Aleksander Barkov has turned into one of the best shut down centermen in the NHL, replacing Patrice Bergeron. Barkov has shut down stars like Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin and David Pastrnak so far this postseason, and now he will look to add McDavid to that list.

Additionally, the Panthers have Matthew Tkachuk, a player who the Oilers are definitely familiar with. This series should be a fun watch for hockey fans.

With the Cup or Bust mentality in Edmonton, just getting here isn't enough. Now the Oilers have to finish things with the Stanley Cup staying in Canada all summer long. Game 1 between the Panthers and Oilers is scheduled for Saturday, June 8 at 6 p.m. ET.