I was among those expecting the Florida Panthers to take this series, predicting they would vanquish the Edmonton Oilers in six games.
Oh, I wanted Edmonton to win, hoping they would end Canada's three-decade Stanley Cup drought. I wanted to see Oilers captain Connor McDavid hoisting hockey's holy grail, cementing his legacy as his generation's greatest player.
But I picked the Panthers because their physical style was better suited for the playoff grind. They were a tight-knit group that returned to the Final after tasting bitter defeat against the Vegas Golden Knights last year. They were healthier and more experienced than they were a year ago. Their roster was deeper, their goaltending better, their defense stronger.
Things went according to plan in the first three games. And then McDavid put the Oilers on his back in Games 4 and 5. Goaltender Stuart Skinner shook off his losses in the first three games and became a stone wall. The Oilers started to believe, chipping away at the Panthers' seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series lead.
Florida held McDavid scoreless in Game 6, but it didn't matter. Warren Foegele stepped up to open the scoring, burying a sweet saucer pass from Leon Draisaitl. Trade deadline pickup Adam Henrique put them up by two. Zach Hyman netted his 16th of the playoffs to make it 3-zip.
It was pretty much over after that. Aleksander Barkov got his Panthers on the board early in the third, but Skinner and his teammates shut the door. Two empty-netters later, the series was tied and heading back to Florida for the decisive Game 7 with the series momentum going the Oilers' way.
The Panthers can still win this thing. They still possess all those factors that got them to this Final in the first place. Like the Oilers in Game 4, they won't want to suffer the indignity of losing the Stanley Cup on home ice.
But the pressure is all on them now. And the weight of history.
It's been 82 years since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs became the first team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win Lord Stanley's mug.
The Oilers are poised to join them. We will witness them complete the greatest comeback in Stanley Cup playoff history.
Prediction: Oilers 4, Panthers 2
- Lyle Richardson
