THE Edmonton Oilers became the 211th team to lead 3-0 in a playoff series in NHL history last week. Now, they only have one victory left to become the fifth to make a comeback.
The Oilers on Friday became the 10th team in NHL history to force a seventh game after going three games to zero after beating the Florida Panthers5-1.
Shortly after nearly 20,000 fans sang the Canadian national anthem at the top of their lungs, Warren Foegele made them scream even louder, finding the back of the net and giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
As for Florida, it only managed two shots on goal in the first period, including one from 170 feet. It was the fewest shots they had during any period of the year.
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Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
Edmonton began the second period with Adam Henrique scoring just 46 seconds into the period on a 2-on-1 after a length-of-ice pass. Florida’s Aleksander Barkov thought he had answered just 10 seconds later, but Edmonton was able to challenge the Panthers’ offside, giving the Oilers a 2-0 lead.
With 1:40 left in the second period, Zach Hyman lit the lamp to make it 3-0. The Oilers scored twice midway through the third, despite Florida outshooting them 11-4.
Florida got on the board early in the third with a goal from Barkov, but it was too little, too late, and the Oilers scored not one, but two empty-netters for good measure.
Then the crowd chanted loudly: “We want the Cup”.
Edmonton has outscored Florida, 18-5, over the last three games – in the first three, they had scored just four to Florida’s 11.
This is only the third time Stanley Cup will see a seventh game after a team takes a 3-0 lead, and the first since 1945 – the Toronto Maple Leafs won both of those occasions, completing their comeback in 1942, then saving themselves from embarrassment three years later.
Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
This is the first 3-0 comeback in the league since Los Angeles Kings did it in the first round of the 2014 playoffs – they won that Game 7 and ultimately won the Cup, winning two more Game 7s in the process.
The last Big 4 team to force a seventh game after being down 3-0 was last year. Boston Celtics – they lost to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but got their revenge earlier this week by winning their first NBA title since 2008. They were the fourth NBA team to tie the series, but neither won it after facing a three-game deficit.
Only the 2004 Boston Red Sox completed their return to Major League Baseball – the 2020 Houston Astros almost joined them, but lost Game 7 of the ALCS to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Edmonton Oilers center Adam Henrique (19) celebrates his goal with his teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
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Game 7 of this series will be back in Sunrise, Florida, where almost everyone will be in a panic Monday night.
With a victory, it will be the Oilers’ first Cup since 1990 and Canada’s first since 1993.
This would also mark the second year in a row that the Panthers would lose in the finals, after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights Last year.
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