Excitement mounts as Oilers get set for Game 1 of Stanley Cup final
Oilers face off against Panthers for 2nd year in a row
The anticipation in Edmonton is building as the Oilers prepare to take the ice against the Florida Panthers.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final gets underway on Oilers home ice Wednesday night, and some fans didn't mind travelling for the occasion.
On Tuesday, Neil Boyle landed in Edmonton, newly arrived from Oregon.
"This is the ultimate lifetime chance to go to a Stanley Cup game. I never thought I would. So I started looking for tickets, found some tickets, got tickets for Game 1 and Game 2 and here we are," he said.
Boyle's Canadian connection is through his mother, who was born in Kelowna, B.C.
"But I became an Oilers fan primarily because of Gretzky. He was awesome," he said in an interview inside the Edmonton Oilers Team Store.
Deepak Sharma, who was also looking at team merchandise, moved to Canada roughly three years ago and started watching the Oilers last year, when the team also made it to the Stanley Cup Final but lost to the Panthers in Game 7.
Everyone at his workplace was sporting an Oilers jersey, he said, and he didn't have one; he was trying on jerseys to find a way to support the team.
Shows of support
In a tribute to the Oilers' players, ice from various Canadian hockey rinks with connections to players on the team was collected through the first-ever This Is Our Ice initiative by Rogers.
The Thermoses of ice were mixed into the ice-making tank of a Zamboni at Rogers Place and used to resurface home ice ahead of Game 1.
In Edmonton, it was scraped from a face-off circle at Confederation Arena, where goalie Stuart Skinner used to play.
"It's going to be more interesting for the players, if they understand where all that ice came from, to take them back," said Barry Swanson, who works on special projects with City of Edmonton arenas.
"Hopefully that takes them back a little bit to some of those days where all of the hard work and all of the travelling and all the fun they had is now paying off and it's now bringing their dreams to fruition hopefully."
Meanwhile, in Newmarket, Ontario, viewing parties will be held to watch captain Connor McDavid, who hails from the community, and the team.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said the community is buzzing with excitement and crowds will be able to gather at what has been dubbed Connor McDavid Square.
"We want to give people a way to come together to enjoy the moment. It's a special moment for this community. Hockey is a big deal in Canada and it's a big deal in Newmarket and Connor McDavid is our hometown hero," said Taylor.
"To have him hailing here from Newmarket, I think it's an inspiration to all kinds of athletes … So many people have memories of Connor and his family."
Lucky number five?
Quinn Phillips, host of The Bits, a sports podcast, said that there are two things that are different for the team this year compared to last year.
"One, home ice advantage. Just being able to be here, they've been so good at home, kind of just be relaxed at home. And then the other thing for me that I think is really important is the experience. You have to learn how to win, and the Oilers have been doing that over many years now," she said.
"You can see it in their composure. You can see it in the emotional output that they've given to the other series."
Last year, the Oilers were down 3-0 and clawed their way back to force Game 7.
Phillips said it will be pivotal for the team to start off strong.
"It is an entirely different series emotionally and physically if the Oilers can find a way to win one of those first two games because then you're not digging out of a monster hole that's very difficult to get out of."
As for a prediction, Philips points to the number five.
"They have five Stanley Cups, they won their last two series in five games, so I am playing on they're going to win this in five. I'm just going with the number five this year being the big number for the Edmonton Oilers," she said with a smile.
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