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Brandon Montour of the Florida Panthers and Leon Trisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers play the puck during Game 5 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals at Amerant Bank Arena on June 18.
CNN
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Extending an improbable comeback from a three-game deficit, the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final.
With the best-of-seven series tied at three games apiece, the teams return to Florida on Monday night for the final showdown for the championship.
Edmonton Oils Canada’s quest to end its decades-long Stanley Cup drought isn’t over, and they’re fighting back for a chance to win it all.
The Oilers were down 0-3 Top seven seriesBut Florida has arguably momentum as the scene shifts after three straight wins.
“That’s one thing, but I think it comes from the belief that we’ve gotten out of holes before this year,” Oilers forward Connor Brown said. saidper NHL.
“We’ve put together winning streaks this year. We are confident that you will be able to experience the past before too long. That’s where hope is, unwavering faith is growing.
The Oilers were at the bottom of the NHL overall standings at one point after a 2-9-1 start to the season and head coach Chris Knoblauch pointed to the team’s comeback as a testament to the team’s early season experience and stamina.
“You look back to November where this team pretty much hit rock-bottom,” Knoblauch told the NHL on Wednesday.
“Expectations were very high from the outside, and certainly inside, for a successful season and a slow start, and when you’re dead last in the NHL at a point, you know things are going back. Things started to go in a positive direction.
“But I think the guys were able to say, ‘OK, let’s start playing hockey right now.’ I think this is a great lesson.
Four teams have come back to win a series after going down 0-3 in NHL postseason history, but the reverse sweep has happened only once in the Stanley Cup Final — 80 years ago, when the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to defeat Detroit. Red Wings in 1942.
If they can come back and win the series, the Oilers will finally end a three-decade Stanley Cup drought for Canadian teams — the Montreal Canadiens last lifted the trophy in 1993.
But the Panthers have a chance to win the title Friday at Rogers Place, head coach Paul Morris said. According to the NHL: “Absolutely nothing has changed in our situation except that we have learned a few things in the last two games. Some lessons we don’t have to learn. We have learned enough of them, but we continue to teach those lessons.
