{"id":29843,"date":"2024-06-17T19:57:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/?p=29843"},"modified":"2024-06-17T19:57:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:57:21","slug":"if-edmonton-oilers-win-game-5-you-know-theres-going-to-be-a-game-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/if-edmonton-oilers-win-game-5-you-know-theres-going-to-be-a-game-7\/","title":{"rendered":"If Edmonton Oilers win Game 5 you know there’s going to be a Game 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

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    That\u2019s the dream, anyway, as Oilers fans circle their emotional wagons and cling to any sliver of hope they can find<\/p>\n

    Published Jun 17, 2024<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 18\u00a0minutes ago<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \"EdmontonThe Edmonton Oilers fans cheer on the team during their 8-1 win over the Florida Panthers during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Rogers Place, in Edmonton Saturday June 15, 2024. The Oilers won 8-1.<\/span> Photo by David Bloom<\/span> \/Postmedia<\/span><\/p>\n

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    The dream goes like this: Whoever wins Game 5 on Tuesday night wins the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

    If the Florida Panthers close out their 3-1 series lead on home ice they\u2019ll be crowned the well-deserved champions. They\u2019ll have won it fair and square.<\/p>\n

    But if the Edmonton Oilers pick up where they left off in Game 4 and win their second in a row, they\u2019re going to run the table and equal the biggest comeback in Stanley Cup Final history.<\/p>\n

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          That\u2019s the dream, anyway, as Oilers fans circle their emotional wagons and cling to any sliver of hope they can find.<\/p>\n

          A long shot? Yup? Far-fetched? A little.<\/p>\n

          But when one more loss means they turn the lights out on your season, any theory, regardless of how far-fetched or rose coloured, seems plausible.<\/p>\n

          It has to be, because the alternative is unthinkable.<\/p>\n

          \"Edmonton Edmonton Oilers fans celebrate the team\u2019s 8-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Rogers Place, in Edmonton Saturday June 15, 2024.<\/span> Photo by David Bloom<\/span> \/Postmedia<\/span><\/p>\n

          And, really, you don\u2019t have to connect a lot of dots to understand why Tuesday night might really be Florida\u2019s last best chance to win the series.<\/p>\n

          Game 5 will be the last time Florida has any sort of advantage. Lose Game 5 on home ice, in what is supposed to be their rebound game after being throttled 8-1 in Game 4, and there is NO WAY they fly back to Edmonton and win a Game 6 in Rogers Place. No chance.<\/p>\n

          And that means a Game 7 coin toss with the Oilers having just won three games in a row. So, yeah, you can kind of see how some people might see Game 5 as Edmonton\u2019s stairway to heaven.<\/p>\n

          \u2018We have to keep the picture small\u2019: Draisaitl<\/h2>\n

          Of course, this is the dictionary definition of getting too far ahead of yourself. And if you float that theory by anyone in the room they\u2019ll shut it down in an instant. You don\u2019t plan ahead for Game 7 when they haven\u2019t even dropped the puck on Game 5.<\/p>\n

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          The plan doesn\u2019t come together unless the Oilers find a way through Florida\u2019s best game in their own building. So, from now until the end of the series, Edmonton\u2019s mantra remains the same: One Game.<\/p>\n

          \u201cIf you look at the top of the mountain right now it\u2019s pretty steep,\u201d said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. \u201cBut taking it one day at a time doesn\u2019t seem so bad.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWe have to keep the picture small: First period, first shift, win your first battle and try to get off to a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

          The other plausible theory, circulating in Florida, is that Game 4 was just human nature talking. The Oilers were determined not to be swept on home ice and after the Panthers fell behind early they eased up and rested on their cushion: \u2018Oh well, we got our split, let\u2019s go home and win it there.\u2019<\/p>\n

          Florida has a little skin in this game, too, remember, and if the Oilers thought the Panthers were a force in the first three games, imagine what they\u2019ll be facing on Tuesday when the options are celebrating a Stanley Cup in front of friends and family on home ice or piling everyone into a couple of planes and flying six hours back to Edmonton to be lambasted by 18,000 fans.<\/p>\n

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          If Florida has an extra gear, we\u2019ll see it in Game 5.<\/p>\n

          \u201cI think they\u2019re going to be better, they\u2019re going to tighten up defensively, for sure, just like any team would after giving up that many goals,\u201d said Draisaitl. \u201cBut we have another gear to go to as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

          In other words, they\u2019re telling you there\u2019s a chance.<\/p>\n

          \"Florida Florida Panthers\u2019 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) sits on the bench after being pulled from the game against the Edmonton Oilers during second period game 4 action of the NHL Stanley Cup final on Saturday, June 15, 2024 in Edmonton. Postmedia<\/span> Photo by Greg Southam<\/span> \/Postmedia<\/span><\/p>\n

          The biggest difference in the first three games of the series was Sergei Bobrovsky and if that is no longer the case (he\u2019s given up seven goals on 22 shots over the last four periods for a .682 save percentage), the Oilers absolutely have a chance.<\/p>\n

          \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to put some in,\u201d said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. \u201cWhen you feel like you\u2019re getting chances and putting a lot of pucks on net and they\u2019re not going in, it\u2019s nice to break through a little bit, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s automatically going to happen on Tuesday, we\u2019re going to have to work for it.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWe know they\u2019re going to come out hard, that\u2019s the bottom line. We\u2019re going to have to match that.\u201d<\/p>\n

          The last two times Edmonton lost three games in a row they followed it up with an eight-game win streak and a 16-game win streak. That was against much weaker opponents, sure, but when the Oilers run hot they can ride the momentum like nobody else.<\/p>\n

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          \u201cThe belief in this group is strong,\u201d said Nugent-Hopkins. \u201cWe\u2019ve put together streaks before. We know they\u2019re going to respond, they\u2019re obviously playing for something here. It\u2019s going to take everybody and it\u2019s going to take a lot of work but we\u2019re excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

          E-mail:\u00a0rtychkowski@postmedia.com<\/p>\n

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            Originally Appeared Here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Breadcrumb Trail Links Sports NHL Hockey Edmonton Oilers That\u2019s the dream, anyway, as Oilers fans circle their emotional wagons and cling to any sliver of hope they can find Published… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,5015],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29843"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29844,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29843\/revisions\/29844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}