Kris Knoblauch got his up-close look at how crazed Edmonton is about the Oilers鈥� playoff run thanks to a mix-up with his car keys the night they clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.
Knoblauch had to walk home, and in doing so went through a jubilant crowd, a scene he described as 鈥渕ayhem.鈥� The excitement has only grown since his team that once trailed the Florida Panthers 3-0 in the series has forced a Game 6 back on home ice on Friday night.
鈥淵ou see the excitement, the flags all over the place, people driving around with Oilers flags and their clothes around town even when it鈥檚 not a game day,鈥� Knoblauch said Wednesday. 鈥淵ou can tell this means a lot to the city.鈥�
It means a lot to generations of fans, some old enough like Darin Winder to remember the Edmonton dynasty of five championships from 1984-90, a glorious run that filled the arena rafters with blue, orange and white banners.
Winder, 55, grew up in nearby Camrose and went to the old Edmonton Gardens with his dad when the Oilers were in the World Hockey Association before joining the NHL and rode the wave of the 2006 run to the Cup final that ended with a seven-game loss to Carolina. Back-to-back wins by the Oilers have fueled hope across Alberta.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a magical run,鈥� Winder said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 game on. Let鈥檚 go. Now we got a real shot, right? Two games, we can do that.鈥�
Two more victories would mean completing a comeback done just once in league history and long ago when the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from down 3-0 to beat the Detroit Red Wings in 1942. The odds remain long, but fans since last week have been putting up 鈥淏ELIEVE鈥� signs in windows downtown, and there鈥檚 no shortage of support for making some history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been nothing short of extraordinary watching the way that the fans have come together,鈥� said retired defenseman Shawn Belle, an Edmonton native who played a handful of his NHL games for his hometown club. 鈥淜nowing that the fans have got your back that much and they want to see you win and you really just electrified a city, it almost feels like it鈥檚 a bit of a responsibility for you to show up every day and bring your best because you know that they鈥檙e bringing their best and they paid tons of money to watch you play and it brings out the best qualities in players.鈥�
From Connor McDavid鈥檚 heroics putting him in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP to Stuart Skinner鈥檚 play in net, the Oilers have brought the best out of the city that lives and breathes hockey. After the 8-1 win to avoid a sweep, the city was awash with people honking their car horns and playing the team鈥檚 victory song, 鈥淟a Bamba,鈥� in the streets.
Asked before the series the best part about living in Edmonton, McDavid said, 鈥渢he passion of the fans.鈥�
鈥淭hey understand the game,鈥� McDavid said. 鈥淎 long history of great teams and great players going through there. A great fan base.鈥�
The Oilers are in the final for the first time since 鈥�06, though the championship series was at Rogers Center during the pandemic in a closed-off situation no one liked 鈥� players and fans alike. The city of nearly a million people is the heart of the region鈥檚 petroleum industry for which the team was named, and the stunned silence that came with the Oilers falling behind 3-0 last week is long gone now.
One worker at a local cancer treatment center said her patients are riveted by the games. Gretzky and Messier and Fuhr and Kurri jerseys are still popular, but McDavid and Draisaitl are everywhere.
鈥淭he jerseys that you see walking the streets any given day, the flags on the cars, the fever is huge,鈥� said Pete Mason, a bartender at a pub down the block from Rogers Place. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting. It鈥檚 fun. Is it exhausting? Am I too old for this? Absolutely. But it is fun.鈥�
And then there鈥檚 Friday, with the Stanley Cup in the building for Florida鈥檚 third chance to hoist it. But the Panthers will need to deal with a fired up, sellout crowd hoping to will the Oilers to a Game 7 back in Florida on Monday.
After seeing fireworks and flares go off on Whyte Avenue near the bar he manages, Connor Yakabuski expects the atmosphere for Game 6 to be nuts.
鈥淚 think the city is just going to be wild,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we win, it鈥檚 going to be a madhouse.鈥�
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