Another season for the Edmonton Oilers, another loss to the champions
Article content
The year before that, the Vegas Golden Knights dispatched the Oilers in six games in the second round on their way to their franchise's inaugural title.
And in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche swept the Oilers right out of the Western Conference Final before capturing the Cup.
It's been a long line of having a front-row seat to champion-caliber runway strutting.
'We don't need to look very far at what it takes to win or what it feels like to play against a winning team,' said Connor McDavid. 'As you said, we've done it four years in a row now.
The Oilers captain has a leg up on his teammates this season, however, after tasting victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, where he scored the gold-medal goal over Team USA in the final of the best-on-best tournament.
'Hockey at the 4 Nations was the best hockey I've ever been a part of for that level,' McDavid said. 'And a close second would be that Florida team that we just played.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Province
an hour ago
- The Province
Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup damage just the latest mishap in the trophy's storied history
Hockey's holy grail has been dropped several times, swam in pools and the ocean, and used both a baptismal font and an accidental toilet Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk, front. and Gustav Forsling pour beer from the Stanley Cup onto fans at the Elbo Room, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the morning after defeating Edmonton in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Cup was damaged the night before. Photo by Joe Cavaretta / AP Some hockey fans are understandably bent out of shape over the Florida Panthers damaging the Stanley Cup this week, but the coveted trophy has been through worse. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors It's been sunk to the bottom of a swimming pool. It's been used in the baptism of several infants and at least one baby has pooped in it. It's even been dropped — or maybe it was tossed — from a second-storey balcony overlooking a rock star's whiskey-shaped pool. 'It happens every year, the bowl gets damaged — basically it gets 'out of round' if you know what I mean,' Cup keeper Phil Pritchard told a Washington Capitals blogger in 2018. 'It is nobody's fault; it just happens every year. It has become part of the lore of sports' greatest trophy.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Here are just a small handful of the known stories about what the silver and nickel trophy has endured through its 131 years. Dents and cracks At some point after knocking off the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday night, the Panthers managed to crack the trophy's bowl and dent the base before even leaving the arena, as evidenced by photos being circulated on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Hockey Hall of Fame told the Associated Press it will be repaired in time for Sunday's victory parade in Sunrise, Fla. It wouldn't be the first time the Cup has been damaged almost immediately after it was awarded. As the Colorado Avalanche gathered on the ice for a team photo to celebrate their 2022 championship, Nicholas Aube-Kubel stumbled and dropped the Cup as he skated into the dogpile, leaving a noticeable dent on the base. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Just a year before, the Tampa Bay Lightning damaged it at some point prior to or during a boat parade to celebrate a second-straight title. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Because the Stanley Cup spends 24 hours with each player and staff member of the winning team, how the damage occurred is usually a mystery or the stuff of anecdotal legend. But while visiting St. John's with the Boston Bruins' Michael Ryder in the summer of 2011, cameras captured the trophy taking a tumble from a table. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Three years earlier, a few days after the Detroit Red Wings claimed the Cup, it was dented after falling off a table at the restaurant owned by defenceman Chris Chelios. The Cup makes a splash The Panthers were the last team to take the hockey's holy grail swimming when they took it to Fort Lauderdale Beach after last year's defeat of the Oilers in the final. At points during their revelry, players hoisting the Cup were diving into waves. Pritchard, in an email to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, expressed concern about possible erosion but said they 'managed to clean it as good as possible and dry it off.' Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk later admitted it wasn't ideal. 'I think somebody said that's not technically allowed, but I said it was too late,' Tkachuk said Thursday. 'It already happened.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Other famous dips include the time it ended up at the bottom of Mario Lemieux's pool following their 1991 win, tossed there from a 20-foot high waterfall by defenceman Phil Bourque. 'We had to dive in,' Bryan Trottier recounted on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast in 2022, 'Troy Loney and I dive and get the Cup out of the Pool. It was very tarnished the next day.' The most famous pool story occurred eight years later as the Dallas Stars celebrated the organization's first championship. While partying at the home of Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, the Stars celebrity superfan said Guy Carboneau tossed the Cup to teammate Craig Ludwig from a balcony above his pool — that was shaped like a bottle of Crown Royal whisky — only for it to hit the pool deck and fall in the chlorinated water. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carboneau disputed that version of events in a 2022 interview with D Magazine in Texas, saying it was an accident as he tried to hand it off to Ludwig. 'If I really wanted to throw the Cup, I would have thrown the Cup. But that was not my intention.' Ludwig, who admitted in the same article that they were all fairly drunk by this point, couldn't be sure what happened. Oh, Baby! The first known and reported instance of an infant being baptized in Lord Stanley's Cup came in 1996 when the Avalanche's Sylvain Lefebvre used it for his daughter's He was followed in 2008 by the Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom, whose niece was welcomed into the Christian faith in the bowl from which countless beers and bottles of champagne have been slurped. The Pittsburgh Penguins' Josh Archibald had his three-week-old baptized in 2017, and the Avalanche's Jack Johnson used it for all three of his kids on his day with the trophy in 2022. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 2008, Kris Draper admitted to the Toronto Star that his newborn daughter 'pooped in the Cup.' 'That was something. We had a pretty good laugh,' said Draper, who cleaned it out and 'still drank out of it that night.' Read More
Edmonton Journal
an hour ago
- Edmonton Journal
'It's my job to connect with Connor': Oilers GM ready and waiting work with McDavid on new deal
Article content Oilers GM Stan Bowman says he's looking at making changes in goal and at forward with the Edmonton Oilers, but he's not looking at major change, given the success of the Stanley Cup Final team. Said Bowman at his season-end press conference today: 'Sitting here today with the way it ended, it certainly feels like a disappointment. And I think it's hard to in the moment, to reflect upon how great a seasoning was. I think over time, you get some perspective on that. And I know from experience that emotions of the moment right now are are challenging, But I'll try to do my best to explain, you know, the fact that this was a great season. We fell short, but we did a lot of great things we you know, there's 30 other teams that would would trade with where we were… At the end of the day, Florida, you know, played better than we did in the Final, and they deserved it.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Stanley Cup final averaged less U.S. viewers than in 2024 — and less than 4 Nations final
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook U.S. television ratings for the Stanley Cup final rematch between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers declined from their first matchup a year ago. An average of 2.5 million viewers watched on TNT, with 2.8 million tuning in for the Panthers' series-clinching Game 6 victory. The overall number on cable is down from 4.17 million last year when the final was on over-the-air TV on ABC and the lowest since Tampa Bay versus Montreal in 2021. 2:14 Pride, heartbreak after Oilers lose Stanley Cup Final The share of viewers increased 15 per cent from TNT's first Cup final in 2023 when Vegas defeated Florida. Story continues below advertisement Social media engagements on NHL content were up 32 per cent over the course of the playoffs. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy An average of 3.8 million viewers watched the final in Canada on Sportsnet, with Connor McDavid looking for his first championship. The 1.8 million on average for the playoffs, which included five out of the 16 teams involved being based in Canada, is a six per cent increase from a year ago. Ratings for the Cup final were significantly lower than the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, the return of international competition featuring the NHL's best players. The final between the Canada and the U.S. was watched by 9.3 million people in the U.S. and 10.7 million in Canada, after the six round-robin games averaged 4.6 million in North America.
