Zac Electrifly

The number three seed, Eastern Conference Champions, Florida Panthers will play the number five seed, Western Conference Champions, Edmonton Oilers. This is the Florida Panthers third appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Their previous appearances were in 1999 and 2023. The Florida Panthers have not won a Stanley Cup. This is the Edmonton Oilers eighth appearance in the the Stanley Cup Finals. Their other appearances were in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, and 2006. The Edmonton Oilers have won the Stanley Cup five times. The Edmonton Oilers won the cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. The Oilers finished the regular season with a win percentage of .598. The Panthers had a win percentage of .634 during the regular season. The Florida Panthers won both of their regular season meetings. The Panther won game one 5-3 and game two 5-1. Their last meeting was on December 16th, 2023.

The Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. They won the battle of Florida 4-1. In a repeat of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins in round two. They won that series 4-2. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 4-2. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings in round one. They won that series 4-1. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks in round two. They won that series 4-3. In the Western Conference Finals, the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 4-2.

Game one will be their first meeting of 2024. I don’t think the regular season record will have an impact on this series since the last game was in December. The Florida Panthers are a better team than least season. They know what it takes to win. They find ways to win. They are a hungry and talented team. The Oilers are an offensive powerhouse. They make mistakes on defense. They are inconsistent in net. They have found ways to win. This will be a challenge for both teams. Both teams faced some of their hardest challenges in the playoffs already. The Florida Panthers weren’t really challenged until they took on the New York Rangers. The Edmonton Oilers had to defeat the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars. I think it will be a good series with the potential to go to seven games.

2024 regular season head to head record:

	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	GD
Panthers	2	2	0	0	4	10	4	+6
Oilers	2	0	2	0	0	4	10	-6

2024 regular season record:

	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	GD
Panthers	82	52	24	6	110	268	200	+68
Oilers	82	49	27	6	104	294	237	+57

2024 postseason record:

	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	GD
Panthers	17	12	4	1	51	38	+13
Oilers	18	12	5	1	63	47	+16

The last time the Edmonton Oilers were in the Stanley Cup Finals was 2006. The Edmonton Oilers played the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. That was the first time that the Oilers were in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1990. Sixteen years prior. The Hurricanes won that years Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory in game seven. The final score of game seven sparked a riot in Edmonton. The Oilers then went on to miss the playoff for ten years in a row. I remember the Oilers losing in 2006. I remember the Oilers becoming one of the worst teams in the NHL for ten years. They were bad for years even with top talent and draft picks. The Oilers organization has turned things around. Eighteen years later, the thought of history repeating itself looms over this series like a dark cloud.

There are a lot of former American Hockey League players in this years Stanley Cup Final. Ninety six percent of the Edmonton Oilers are former AHLers. Sixty Four Percent of the Florida Panthers are former AHLers. I have watched a lot of the Oilers play in Bakersfield. I am a Bakersfield Condors fan. I have been all my life. I watch as many of their games and highlights as I can. When I can’t watch them I listen to the games or follow the updates. There are a bunch of former Condors playing on the Oilers right now.

Corey Perry has made NHL history by being the only player to make the Stanley Cup Finals with five different teams. He won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. He made it to the Stanley Cup Finals with the Dallas Stars in 2020, the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022. The Bakersfield Condors were the Anaheim Ducks ECHL affiliate when they won the Stanley Cup and the Condors are now the Oilers AHL affiliate when they go to the Stanley Cup. Both the Ducks and the Oilers had Corey Perry on their team when advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals while Affiliated with the Bakersfield Condors. I think that is the most unique stat of all of the stats for the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. Corey Perry was kicked off of the Chicago Blackhawks and picked up by the Edmonton Oilers earlier this season. After being dragged through the press with rumors of him sleeping with a rookies mom, winning the Stanley Cup would be a huge redemption arc for him.

This years Stanley Cup Final is the longest in history. It is is the furthest away any two teams have been in any major North American professional sports championship. They are 2,541 miles away from each other. As a result of that the Stanley Cup Finals are schedule is pretty spread out.

All top four picks from the 2014 draft are all playing in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. That is wild. Aaron Ekblad was drafted first overall in 2014 by the Florida Panthers. He is still playing for the Florida Panthers. Sam Reinhart was drafted second overall in 2014 by the Buffalo Sabers. He now plays for the Florida Panthers. Leon Draisaitl was drafted third overall in 2014 by the Edmonton Oilers. He is still playing for the Edmonton Oilers. He is the best player out of all four of these players. Sam Bennett was drafted fourth overall in 2014 by the Calgary Flames. He now plays for the Florida Panthers.

When the Oilers won the first overall pick in the 2015 Draft, Connor McDavid’s fate was sealed. He was headed to the Oilers. Taylor Hall who had been selected by the Oilers at first overall in the 2010 draft, had to step aside as the guy in Edmonton. The Oilers had tried to build a team around Taylor Hall. From what I understand they told him he was their guy moving forward. Then McDavid arrived. There was a clash between Taylor Hall and Connor McDavid as Taylor Hall did not want to step into a more supporting role. If Taylor Hall would have put his ego aside, the Oilers would have made the Stanley Cup Finals a lot sooner. How crazy would it have been to see Connor McDavid, Leon Drisaitl, and Taylor Hall for more than one season. What is also crazy about this situation is how quickly the fan base turned on Taylor Hall. With the Drafting of Connor McDavid the fan base went from loving Taylor Hall to wanting hime out before the season even started. I still do not understand why the Oilers fanbase almost overnight saw Taylor Hall as an obstacle to their success instead of a key part of it. Losing Taylor Hall set the Oilers back.

One of the other things I remember from McDavid joining the Oilers was the when the fans gathered outside of the stadium with a drum circle. They were trying to put Gretzky’s spirit into Connor McDavid. It is one of the wildest things I have seen an NHL fanbase do. The fans in Edmonton will do anything to win a cup.

The Oilers had a rough start to the season. They ended up firing head coach Jay Woodcraft. I still do not know if this was the right choice. He did well with the Condors and as the Oilers coach. It was a rough start. I think the Oilers would have bounced back either way. I think the coaching change could be a more immediate way to shake things up. Honestly the rough start was a goaltending issue. There was not much Woodcraft could have done unless he went out to get a new goalie. To no ones surprise the Oilers turned it around and the goaltenders got it together. The sad part now is that Woodcraft has to sit at home and watch the team he coached and helped build up since 2015 in the Stanley Cup Finals. The largest accomplishment of his career that in a way has been taken away from him. The Oilers have had the best record in the NHL since this. The Oilers may have set a record with the worst start to a season of a team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. I also do not know of another team that has fired their coach during the regular season and gone on to be in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Fun fact: Jay Woodcraft played for the Anchorage Aces for the 2001-02 season in the WCHL. This means that he played against the Bakersfield Condors in the WCHL and would go on to coach the Condors in the AHL.

The Florida Panthers are out for redemption. This season has been about one thing for them. Redemption after losing the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. All five of the last five Stanley Cup Finals have featured a team from Florida. In 2023 the Florida Panthers took on the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Vegas Golden Knights won the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals 4-1. The Panthers had built up a lot of momentum on their way to the cup including beating a historic Boston Bruins team. They ran into a wall in the Stanley Cup Finals when they played the Golden Knights. This season their focus on getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals and redeeming themselves is clear. Like the Oilers 2006 Stanley Cup Finals appearance the Panthers 2023 Stanley Cup Finals appearance looms over them like a dark cloud. Repeating history is the last thing either of these teams want. But it is inevitable for one team. We just do not know which team yet.

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Are the Oilers Americas team? I know that none of the other fan bases in Canada are cheering for them. I know that I am the only person in Nevada cheering for them. Golden Knights fans hate them. Yet they also hate the Panthers. For Golden Knights fans its about who they hate less. There are a lot of people who want the Panthers to win because they have not won a cup before. Then there is the crowd that thinks hockey doesn’t belong in Florida so they hate them just for existing. Hockey belongs everywhere. For a lot of people it is just who they hate less. I like the idea of the Oilers being Americas team because I am an American hoping they win and I know there is more of us in America hoping they win then people in Canada hoping they win. I think every other Canadian fanbase would rather see them not make the playoffs for another ten years. Why am I cheering for the Oilers as a Pittsburgh Penguins fan? They own and are affiliated with the Bakersfield Condors. The Condors will always be my favorite team no matter what. I didn’t want to follow the Oilers as much as the Penguins but there wasn’t much of a choice there with NHL and AHL teams being so intertwined. I also follow the Vegas Golden Knights. They are kind of the local team around here even though San Jose is closer and Vegas is eight hours away. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are an ECHL team so that is kind of different but I will be following them as closely as I can as they are the new local team.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers are currently tied with five Stanley Cups. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers are currently also tied for the most Stanley Cups since the NHL absorbed the World Hockey Association forty four years ago in 1979. If the Oilers win this season, they will win their sixth Stanley Cup. Their last Stanley Cup was in 1990. It would be their first Stanley Cup in thirty four years. It would also be their first Stanley Cup this century and millennium. They have not won a Stanley Cup since the Florida Panthers or eleven other NHL teams joined the NHL. Winning a sixth Stanley Cup would tie them with the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins.

Calgary Flames fans may be the most upset fanbase at the moment. Their main rival who they lost to in the Heritage Classic at the beginning of the season is now in the Stanley Cup Finals. On top of that the Calgary Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in 2022. Tkachuk was supposed to be the flames answer to Connor McDavid. The Flames were supposed to build a cup contending team around Tkachuk. Instead the Flames trade Tkachuk to the Panthers and he becomes their star player. Now as a Flames fan your rival team and former star are in the Stanley Cup Finals. It is a lose lose situation for Flames fans.

Joey Moss was beloved in Edmonton. He was a locker room attendant with down syndrome in Edmonton for over three decades. He passed away in 2020. Another beloved person around the Oilers organization was Ben Stelter. Ben had glioblastoma. He was an Oilers super fan. He passed away at the age of six in 2022. He is the reason the Oilers play the song La Bamba after every win. His foundation has been able to raise the money for a new cancer treatment center in Edmonton. My Papa (grandfather) passed away in 2021. He was a Bakersfield Condors super fan. He had season ticket when he lived in Bakersfield. He was know as “Sombrero Bill” because he would wear sombreros to the games and throw them on the ice for hat tricks. The tradition of sombreros at hockey games in Bakersfield continues to this day. The Condors even had one of their players wearing a sombrero for his bobblehead once. My Papa became an Oilers fan after their affiliation with the Condors started. He would have loved to see the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Earlier this year Phyllis Hansen known as “Dancin’ Granny” in Bakersfield passed away. She was another Condors super fan. She must have been at almost every game for as far back as I remember. She did get her own bobble head one time. She probably would have liked to see former Condors she saw play go on to win the Stanley Cup with the Oilers.

The Oilers player Colby Cave passed away in 2020 after suffering from brain bleed. Cave started his professional career in the 2014-15 season. He was with the Oilers organization from 2018 to 2020. He was just twenty five when he passed away. The Bakersfield Condors honored him in multiple ways. When I first heard the news about Colby Cave I thought about Andrew Carroll. Andrew Carroll played for the Bakersfield Condors in the ECHL during the 2013-14 season. He committed suicide in 2018 at the age of 32. His death was tough and it has stood with me. Matt Thurber played just one professional hockey season in the ECHL with the Bakersfield Condors also during the 2013-14 season. Thurber passed away just four months after Andrew Carroll.

The Oilers fanbase has done a lot to keep the memories of Joey Moss, Ben Stelter, and Colby Cave alive. This has been in the background of everything the Oilers have done over the last few years. For the Oilers players and their fans it is more than just winning a cup. It is about winning for Joey Moss, Ben Stelter, Colby Cave, and everyone else who could not be here to witness this.

Game one of this series will be on Saturday, June 8th, 2024. Game one will be in Florida. Puck drop is set for 5:00pm PST. The winner of this series will be the Stanley Cup Champion.

The Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Dallas Stars advanced to the second round.

The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.