June 3, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

Last year’s playoff run took the Edmonton Oilers and their fans through almost the entire gamut of human emotions. There were many nervous and tense moments during tight games. They dealt with the stress of trailing in series, the deflation of blowing leads, and the excitement of dramatic last minute and overtime wins. They felt the elation of making it to the Stanley Cup Final, then the sinking feeling of going down 0-3, and the crushing disappointment of losing in Game 7.

The first round went fairly smoothly as the Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games, but the water got choppier throughout the rest of the playoffs. Their opponent in round two was the Vancouver Canucks, a Western Canadian rival. While talking to reporters on Monday, Leon Draisaitl said that the series against the Canucks  “…was really emotional for everyone. Two Canadian teams, the media… you know, there’s just a lot of components that went into that series. I think if you ask everyone, they’ll say that series felt like it took years off our lives”.

It wasn’t just about the storyline and the opponent. It was also a wild series. The Oilers blew a 4-1 third period lead in Vancouver in Game 1. Game 2 was a dramatic overtime win. The Canucks won a close one at Rogers Place in Game 3, and it ended with some fireworks as Nikita Zadorov cross-checked Connor McDavid in the back while Carson Soucy was cross-checking him from the front. Soucy was suspended for Game 4, which was settled by Evan Bouchard with 39 seconds left. The Canucks had their own last minute game winning goal in Game 5. The Oilers blew the Canucks out in Game 6, then went to Vancouver and won a tense Game 7 that almost got away from them like Game 1 did.

Next up was the Dallas Stars. The Oilers got a double overtime win in Game 1 in Dallas, but found themselves trailing the series 2-1 after Game 3. They found a way to win the next three games, including a nail biter at home in Game 6 where Stuart Skinner shut the door on the Stars with a tremendous performance to propel the Oilers into their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

Then came the Stanley Cup Final. It was incredibly exciting as a fan to see the team I cheer for make the Stanley Cup Final, so I can only imagine the emotions that were swirling around in the heads of the players before the series started.

The Florida Panthers took it to the Oilers in Games 1 and 2 in Sunrise. Then the Oilers came home to play the first Stanley Cup Final game with fans in attendance in the history of Rogers Place in Game 3. They fared better, but they still made a few too many mistakes in a 4-3 loss. They found themselves down 3-0 to a Panthers team that had lost in the Stanley Cup Final the year before.

We know what happened next. The Oilers stormed out of the gates with their backs against the wall in Game 4, and took that one 8-1. Then they won Game 5 in Florida and drug the Panthers back to Alberta for a Game 6, which the Oilers won running away to tie the series and force a Game 7.

It was billed as the biggest game in NHL history because of what could have been had the Oilers prevailed. No team had come back from an 0-3 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993, and it would’ve been McDavid’s first Stanley Cup win. Alas, that’s not how it turned out.

A Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final has two emotional outcomes for those involved, which are either jubilation or devastation. Just when you think that’s the widest possible range of emotional outcomes for a game, you realize that those emotions get multiplied exponentially given the way the series shifted and because of all the extra stuff on the line for the Oilers.

I shouldn’t limit that cinematic journey to just last year’s playoffs. The Oilers started the regular season 3-9-1 before making a coaching change. They had dug themselves a huge hole, but they put together multiple eight-game winning streaks and a historic sixteen-game winning streak throughout the season to wind up finishing second in the Pacific Division. The odds said that the playoffs were essentially out of reach based on their start, but they found a way.

The horrific start, the historic winning streak, the wild second round, the tense third round, and the dramatic Stanley Cup Final were all magnified because the Oilers play in hockey-mad Edmonton where the fanbase hangs on every move that everyone from the ice all the way up hockey operations makes. That passion is what makes this city so great, but it makes everything that much more emotional. You can’t tell me that the Oilers weren’t emotionally exhausted after their Game 7 loss, and you can’t tell me that emotional fatigue didn’t impact their play. No excuses or get out of jail free cards; but it had to have been a factor.

The 2025 playoff run has been a lot smoother sailing for the Oilers. They limped into the playoffs with a host of bruised and injured players, and it showed in Games 1 and 2 of the first round. Since then, they’re 12-2. They won four straight games to knock out the Kings, and they beat the Vegas Golden Knights and the Stars in five games each on their way to the Stanley Cup Final this year. 

That isn’t to say they haven’t had any tough moments. The first round was full of wild comebacks by both teams. The Oilers were down 4-0 in Game 1 and they tied the game at five, but the Kings scored a fluky game winner with less than a minute left. The Oilers had to come back in Game 3 thanks in part to goals ten seconds apart by Evander Kane and Bouchard. The Kings challenged for goalie interference on Kane’s game tying goal; but the challenge was unsuccessful, so the Oilers got a powerplay. It took Bouchard just ten seconds to give the Oilers the lead. The Oilers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win in overtime in Game 4. The Golden Knights took the Oilers to overtime twice in the second round, and they won Game 3 with 0.4 seconds left.

There hasn’t been much doubt aside from those few moments though. It’s entirely fair to say that the emotional toll hasn’t been as high on the Oilers this year as it was last year, which puts them in a much better state of mind entering this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

“I think we’re just a little bit more mature and know how to be in those situations and how to stay even keel as everyone talks about” said Draisaitl immediately after his comment about the way the Canucks series impacted the team emotionally on Monday.

“I think this run has felt different than last year” observed McDavid after advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. “It’s felt very normal. I don’t want to say ‘boring’ because it’s not boring at all, but it hasn’t been as emotional, you know. We haven’t had the highs, we haven’t had the lows, just kind of been steady… I think that’s put us in a good position. Those games can be emotionally draining. We’re not drained.” 

At Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Final media day, McDavid said that “the whole thing feels more normal, which is a good thing”. When asked about the biggest lesson he learned from last year’s series, he said that “…it’s just dealing with the emotion of it… just because you feel closer, there’s a big circus. It can feel like it’s larger than it is. At the end of the day, it’s another series and we’re playing another great team, and you’ve got to beat them before anything else happens. They have our complete focus. All of our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers. There should be nothing else on anyone’s mind.”

Related: Oilers vs Panthers II: Stanley Cup Final preview

Even as a fan, I can echo those sentiments. I remember the level of excitement I felt when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last year. I was over the moon! It took a while for the fact that we were seeing the Oilers don Stanley Cup Final patches on their jerseys to sink in.

The games in the first round this year were definitely roller coasters, but once the Oilers evened the series, it felt like it was over. The Golden Knights were a stiff test, but the Oilers stole two wins at T-Mobile arena to open the series, and they were within 0.4 seconds and an overtime goal of a sweep. 104 Avenue was bumping on the night the Oilers eliminated the Dallas Stars last year, but it was a much different vibe walking out of the Road Game Watch Party at Rogers Place after Game 5. 104 Avenue was seemingly empty, mostly because of the storm that came through during the game that forced the Moss Pit and the Fan Park to shut down; but it was a much calmer scene than last year’s scene.

It has felt much calmer outside of Rogers Place throughout these playoffs. There are fewer chants and high fives on the streets in the downtown core than there have been in years past. It’s not because fans are bored or less excited. It could be because of increased security in the area, but the fact is that we’ve been here before. We know what to expect, and we’re better prepared to handle it this time around, just like the players are.

I opened this piece by saying that the Oilers and their fans felt almost the entire gamut of human emotions last year. There’s one big emotion that they didn’t get to feel, which is the jubilation of having finished the job. The emotional fuel tank being more full this year certainly doesn’t hurt the Oilers’ cause. There’s no fear of the unknown because they’ve been here before. They certainly want to avoid last year’s outcome; but they know what that feels like and once you feel that, the fear of feeling that lessens. You know you’ll come out stronger on the other side of that darkness. There are fewer thoughts swirling around inside the heads of the Oilers players this year, which leaves more room for focus on beating the Panthers.

They also enter this series having defeated one past demon in the Golden Knights this spring. This year’s second round series was the Oilers’ first opportunity at redemption against a team that had beaten them in the playoffs previously in the McDavid era. I’d say they handled that situation pretty well.

Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Final Connections: Oilers and Panthers