It has been a tough weekend for hockey fans throughout the country, as the Edmonton Oilers lost game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday night with a 3-0 result. Canadians have been on the edge of their seats waiting for an opportunity for the country to get its first Cup in over 30 years. We talked to three Oilers fans from Southeast Saskatchewan to weigh in on what the team needs to win the series.
"Oh, It'll be a tight contest. Florida is a really good team, but they're going to have to pull out all the stops and hope for some lucky bounces somewhere. It might [be] a long series between the two," shared Oilers fan Ryan Fleck.
Fleck is no casual fan. He said that he tries to make it to games every once in a while. He even tried to get a ticket to a possible game 6 in Edmonton, but the soaring prices prevented him.
"I tried to get the playoff tickets, but there was 12,875 people ahead of me in the queue and I just couldn't get in on time. It sold out when there was 160 people ahead of me or else I would have been going to Game 6, had there been in Game 6.
Fleck's Picks
- Game 1 - Oilers
- Game 2 - Panthers
- Game 3 - Oilers
- Game 4 - Panthers
- Game 5 - Oilers
- Game 6 - Panthers
- Game 7 - Oilers
In Ryan's eyes, the keys to an Oilers win for the series are protecting the goalie and having your offence be strong throughout the entire 60 minutes.
"I know it's been coming for a long time. I know a lot of Oilers fans have been waiting for this for a long time," local racecar driver and Oilers fan Riley Raynard expressed.
Riley mentioned that it will still be a tight game, but he's optimistic that the Oilers will win in six games. He noted that the NHL team is getting a lot of aspects right and that they'll need to keep their momentum up.
"[The Oilers has] got to continue our good special teams. You know, the PK (penalty kill) has been absolutely insane. I think they've killed off the last 14 or something like that. As well as the power play, it's almost record-breaking how good the power play has been. The special teams, you know, that is really important along with the depth that we have on our team, they've got to continue to keep doing what they're doing. Skinner has been unreal lately, so he's got to continue his great play."
As for the biggest Edmonton Oilers fan in Southeast Saskatchewan, he shares the same sentiment that the Oilers will have a tough contest ahead of them. Taylor Shulda expressed that this Cup run will be bigger than the last time the Oilers made it into the Final back in 2006.
"Well, Florida's tough team. They got some good physical players. [Aleksander] Barkov, obviously a great centerman. He'll be tough, but we got lots of pieces too, you know? So with the addition of Ekholm, you got [Nugent-Hopkins], Draisatl, McDavid, Hyman, all those guys."
Shulda noted that the first two games will be more like either team feeling each other out.
Taylor's Picks
- Game 1 - Oilers
- Game 2 - Panthers
- Game 3 - Panthers
- Game 4 - Oilers
- Game 5 - Panthers
- Game 6 - Oilers
- Game 7 - Oilers
One thing is for sure: the Stanley Cup Finals series will certainly be a long one. The puck drops on game 2 tonight in Sunrise, Florida at 6pm.
Sun, Jun 23, 11:00 AM
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