The Oilers Magic Ends. The Panthers Win It ALL! (The Morning After Game 7. Article)

Edition #101

INTRO:

The job was finally completed.

The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in their 30-year history.

But, they made it harder than they could’ve ever made it. We’ve seen a few Game 7s like this one where a team starts 0-3 and then wins 3 in a row, makes it to game 7, and then… loses.

We’ll talk about it all. Plus the game and the future on Edition #101 on Sports Square.

Let’s. Get. It.

NOTE:

I had many people join the Zoom for the Q&A. I got many personal questions plus sports questions in general and it was super fun. Thanks for taking your valuable time to join.

On the other note, as you can see, the past few weeks’ editions have not had the HEADLINES element to them. I’m officially taking that out, but if you’re still interested in headlines, just email me at sportssquareauthor@gmail.com and I’ll get you that.

Let’s begin.

Florida Panthers WIN THEIR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP IN THEIR EXISTENCE

If you didn’t watch the game and were just looking at the score, you would definitely say this. “Don’t they say thrilling for everything?” After all, none of the teams scored after 4:49 in the second period. If you didn’t say that, you probably would only have credited Carter Varhaeghe and Sam Reinhart for the win.

But, even if you watched the game's last minutes, you would understand why Yahoo Sports and Fox News say thrilling and thriller and why Carter and Sam don’t deserve all the credit.

At the start, this didn’t just feel like a regular game. It felt like a war. Numerous Oilers fans purchased tickets for the game in Florida and cheered up the Oilers players in warmups. How?

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Yes. They were singing the Canadian national anthem. The Panthers were intimidated by this. So, what do you think happened next?

Say, can you see
By the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly, yeah, streaming?
And the rockets' red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

But the woes for Canadian teams in the NHL continue. There hasn’t been a win for this group since 1993!

Okay. Let’s dive deeper.

I really thought that this would be the year we would finally see a comeback in the finals. Yes. I very much believed in the Oilers comeback against this Florida Panthers team, especially after the blowout in game 4. They’ve gone through adversity, not only now but during the season too. The disappointment on Connor McDavid’s face and in his actions was exactly what I was feeling.

No. I’m not an Oilers fan. But, I love the underdogs. The Oilers were the underdogs (let the betting lines say whatever they want). Plus, this would’ve been a great way to break a “curse” on the Canadian teams.

Maybe the Oilers would’ve won if Connor McDavid had added to his 42 points. He was scoreless in the last 2 games.

Let’s hear what he said after the game.

Answering the question: To come back from 3-0 and to get to this point. Is there any kind of, not solace, but did you take a lot of pride in being able to make this a series when it was looked like you guys were down?

CONNOR MCDAVID: yeah yeah yeah um goes back to the character of the group that we showed all year long you know um we showed all year long that we could fight back um even in the most dire situations and you know obviously tough to be down three and um tough to tough to string four in a row against a good team like that but we were right there.

It’s the truth! You guys were right there. Even then, McDavid did receive a big honor as he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy (the best postseason player). He was the first person to receive the award on the losing end since Reggie Leach on the Flyers in 1976.

In the third period, specifically the last 5 minutes, it was chaos. For the Florida Panthers. The Oilers could’ve tied the game multiple times. Heck, if they had made one, they could’ve won this game! Bobrovsky was slipping, falling, and diving, and it was basically an empty net shot for the Oilers.

Even then, with some amazing defense from his teammates, they barely escaped, or else, everyone would be talking about something else right now. The first finals 3-0 comeback in history.

This was a great series, regardless of the outcome. The fact that this Oilers team came back with full energy and won 3 games in a row against an excellent and “experienced?” Panthers team was itself a wow. It was almost like the U.S. winning against Pakistan in cricket (by the way, Afghanistan advanced to its first-ever T20 World Cup semifinals by winning against Bangladesh, eliminating the favorites, Australia).

Aside from that, even the Oilers coach didn’t want to talk about this loss too much. "We lost to a very deserving team," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said.

MY PLAYER OF GAME 7: SERGEI BOBROVSKY

CONCLUSION:

If you’re a fan of the Florida Panthers, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. But, don’t waste it all. After all, you’re my favorite to win the Stanley Cup next year, unless the San Jose Sharks do something magnificent. Nah, I’m joking about the sharks.

If you’re an Oilers fan, be happy. Just like the Mavericks, this team has faced an uphill battle the whole season. While they didn’t turn around their whole team at the deadlines, the adversity this team faced was unlike any other. Sure, your team lost. But, the fight they put up, even towards the end of the game, is worth noting.

While I’m not a huge NHL guy, I believe this was one of my favorite articles to write by myself regardless of how short or long it is. I hope you liked it, and I have a special article coming out for you tomorrow.