Edmonton Oilers fans travel from the U.K. to catch Stanley Cup Final action
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After supporting the Edmonton Oilers from across the Atlantic for many years, Brian Shotton and Nicola Shotton made the snap decision last week to fly to Edmonton and catch the first two Stanley Cup Final games live.
'The noise when that goal went in was just crazy,' said Brian Shotton.
The Shottons have been dedicated fans of the Oilers from afar for many years. The love for Shotton started when he was younger, and caught a glimpse of the Oilers on TV in the U.K. when he was a kid. Now, 28 years later, his support is doubled by his partner, Nicola Shotton, who also cheers for the team and watches the games at ungodly hours on account of the time difference. After decades of support for the Oilers from afar, while the Oilers took on Dallas in the Western Conference Final last Thursday, Brian Shotton suggested half-heartedly that if the Oilers punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals, perhaps the couple should go too.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
With series tied, Panthers and Oilers enjoy extra day's rest as Stanley Cup final shifts to Florida
After Brad Marchand scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, he and Florida Panthers teammate Sam Bennett were asked how they kept their bodies going during another long and intense matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. 'I think (Marchand) grabbed a Blizzard … I think it was Oreo today,' Bennett quipped, referring to a viral moment during the Eastern Conference finals when Marchand joked that he enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie dough treat from Dairy Queen between periods – which was later revealed as a spoonful of honey. 'Nice plug,' Marchand responded with a chuckle. 'I like that.' They were joking, of course, but there was a point in Friday night's double-overtime game that Marchand spent time between periods pedaling on an exercise bike to stay loose – as players from both teams shuffled their tired bodies on and off the ice for hours. The first two games of the Stanley Cup final have gone to overtime, only the sixth time in NHL history that's happened and first since 2014. Game 1 went on until Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal 19:29 into the extra period. Marchand put Game 2 to an end with a breakaway goal 8:07 into the second overtime. With the series tied 1-1, both teams will embark on a cross-continent trip from Canada to Florida, enjoying an extra day's rest between games to recover after an intense start to their championship series. Game 3 is Monday night in Sunrise, Florida. 'Obviously a long game, a lot of back and forth,' said Florida defenseman Seth Jones, who led the Panthers in ice time at 34 minutes, 35 seconds on Friday. Jones, who is averaging a team-high 25:45 on the ice in the postseason, played more than 30 minutes in both of the first two games of the series. He scored in the first period on Friday – his fourth goal of the postseason – and assisted on Dmitry Kulikov's goal in the second. 'We came here for a split and got it,' Jones added, 'and just going to recover now.' Can the Oilers beat the Panthers? Is McDavid the new Gretzky? We answered your Stanley Cup final questions Panthers coach Paul Maurice said heading back to Florida with the series tied – instead of being down 0-2 – does make a minor mental difference, but one of his team's strengths is its tunnel vision approach. 'It's mathematically significant,' Maurice said. 'I'd like to think that we'd be dragging here today, this morning, if we had lost that game having had the lead for so long. But I think we're really good at cutting it off. 'It's the same morning this morning at the meal room as it was two days ago (after the Game 1 loss). It's just on to the next day. We understand how to leave our days – the good ones and the bad ones – in the past and handle the day we have right now.' The Oilers are moving forward in the series with an equally short memory after missed chances in Game 2. Corey Perry, whose goal with 17.8 seconds left in the third period forced overtime, said the back-and-forth nature of the series was to be expected from the two teams, but there's no use in getting hung up on 'what-ifs.' 'What's it going to do?' Perry said. 'It's not going to do anything for you now. Get on the plane tomorrow and get some rest and be ready for Game 3.' Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry still enjoying the Stanley Cup chase Few players have spent more time on the ice in the series than Connor McDavid. The Edmonton star played 31:12 in Game 1, and just over 35 minutes in Game 2 – more than anyone else in the game. That's nearly 10 minutes more than his postseason average of 24:22. McDavid's impact was certainly felt on Friday. He had three assists, including one in which he zipped through Florida's penalty kill to set up Draisaitl's power play goal in the first. Draisaitl noted after the game there's only one player in the world that can make such a highlight-reel play, but stressed the importance of using the two days off to recalibrate. 'At this time of year, you've got to move on,' he said, 'There's not time thinking about it too long. Obviously it stings right now, but we have to move on.'
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Edmonton Oilers need to up their gamesmanship to Florida's Rat Level
Yes, the Oilers could easily be up 2-0 on the Florida Panthers right now, secure in the knowledge that teams in that situation go on to win the series 93 per cent of the time. But they've also been trailing in the third period at home in two overtime games and could just as easily be heading to Florida down 2-0 and staring down the barrel of another summer heartbreak. Through two games and nearly nine full periods of hockey there is still nothing to choose between the Oilers and Panthers. Each side has one win, each side has eight goals and each side will tell you it's going only getting tighter from here. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. This is shaping up to be the best Stanley Cup Final in a very long time, a vicious, fast-paced neck-and-neck conflict between the two most powerful teams in the NHL. And all we know for sure is that after stealing home ice advantage with Friday's 5-4 double-overtime win, it's advantage Florida. Some thoughts, observations and advice as the Oilers head to the Florida swamp for Games 3 and 4: The Panthers are getting into Edmonton's kitchen. They're slopping pancake batter all over the counter, cooking bacon without using the splatter guard, leaving toast crumbs in the butter and egg shells wherever they fall. They left a royal mess behind in Game 2 and now it's on the Oilers to clean it up. Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk (Two Rats and a Turtle) were fantastic, exactly what the Panthers needed them to be. They tormented the Oilers at every turn. They roughed up Edmonton's goalie, they face-washed Edmonton's toughest defenceman, they harassed Edmonton's best player. And they did it all with relative impunity, even laughing about it in the penalty box. Count how often an Oiler turned to the referee, palms up and pleading for justice, after a dirty deed from Florida's pests. Then count how many times Florida was griping about Oilers running afoul of the law and you'll know who's winning the psychological battle. When you play Florida, gamesmanship is every bit as important as Xs and Os and the Panthers don't lose that department very often. Where are Edmonton's rats? There should have been a conga line of Oilers accidentally tumbling into Sergei Bobrovsky's knees? And somebody at some point, when they were locked up with Tkachuk or Marchand in a shoving match away from the scrum, should have called their bluff. When you're throwing gloved punches already, nobody is getting an instigator penalty. And whatever happened to Bennett for twice now crashing into Skinner, resulting in a goal that shouldn't have counted and a near injury? The Oilers keep saying they're bigger and tougher and cagier than last year. It's time to prove it. It's difficult to know where the line is with the officiating as bad as it is in the NHL (even the referees don't seem to know what the standard is) but if Florida can find a way, so can Edmonton. Nothing settles down an overly rambunctious opponent in the playoffs faster than making them pay for their aggression. The Oilers really needed to make a statement with their power play and that didn't happen, either. On six power-play opportunities in Game 2, all the Oilers could do was break even, scoring once after Bennett dove into Stuart Skinner and giving up a short-handed breakaway goal to Marchand. Power plays in the series are 10-6 for Edmonton and Florida is up 2-1 on net goals. If the Oilers are looking to break through on the road, this needs to be where it starts. One of the biggest keys coming into the series was Florida's forecheck versus Edmonton's ability to retrieve the puck and break it out the other way. That's exactly how it's playing out. Nobody presses harder than the Panthers and they've already had the Oilers running around in their end for long, momentum-changing stretches at a time. When Edmonton's defencemen move the puck and serve up rush chances for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl it's a beautiful thing. But when they get chasing their tails in the defensive zone and letting Florida's forwards take charge of the blue paint, it's serious concern. It was a high-event night for McDavid and Evan Bouchard. There were nine goals scored in Game 2 and they were on the ice for seven of them. McDavid had a three-assist night, including one of the nicest plays you'll ever see to set up Draisaitl while Bouchard had a goal and two assists. But they both finished even on the night after being on the ice for the last three Florida goals. Draisaitl was minus one on three goals for (two at even strength) and three against. Edmonton's top guys need better ratios than that. E-mail: rtychkowski@
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
After 2 overtime games, Panthers and Oilers relish days off as Stanley Cup Final shifts to Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — After Brad Marchand scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, he and Florida Panthers teammate Sam Bennett were asked how they kept their bodies going during another long and intense matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. 'I think (Marchand) grabbed a Blizzard … I think it was Oreo today,' Bennett quipped, referring to a viral moment during the Eastern Conference finals when Marchand joked that he enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie dough treat from Dairy Queen between periods — which was later revealed as a spoonful of honey. 'Nice plug,' Marchand responded with a chuckle. 'I like that.' They were joking, of course, but there was a point in Friday night's double-overtime game that Marchand spent time between periods pedaling on an exercise bike to stay loose — as players from both teams shuffled their tired bodies on and off the ice for hours. The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final have gone to overtime, only the sixth time in NHL history that's happened and first since 2014. Game 1 went on until Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal 19:29 into the extra period. Marchand put Game 2 to an end with a breakaway goal 8:07 into the second overtime. With the series tied 1-1, both teams will embark on a cross-continent trip from Canada to Florida, enjoying an extra day's rest between games to recover after an intense start to their championship series. Game 3 is Monday night in Sunrise, Florida. 'Obviously a long game, a lot of back and forth,' said Florida defenseman Seth Jones, who led the Panthers in ice time at 34 minutes, 35 seconds on Friday. Jones, who is averaging a team-high 25:45 on the ice in the postseason, played more than 30 minutes in both of the first two games of the series. He scored in the first period on Friday — his fourth goal of the postseason — and assisted on Dmitry Kulikov's goal in the second. 'We came here for a split and got it,' Jones added, 'and just going to recover now.' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said heading back to Florida with the series tied — instead of being down 0-2 — does make a minor mental difference, but one of his team's strengths is its tunnel vision approach. 'It's mathematically significant,' Maurice said. 'I'd like to think that we'd be dragging here today, this morning, if we had lost that game having had the lead for so long. But I think we're really good at cutting it off. 'It's the same morning this morning at the meal room as it was two days ago (after the Game 1 loss). It's just on to the next day. We understand how to leave our days — the good ones and the bad ones — in the past and handle the day we have right now.' The Oilers are moving forward in the series with an equally short memory after missed chances in Game 2. Corey Perry, whose goal with 17.8 seconds left in the third period forced overtime, said the back-and-forth nature of the series was to be expected from the two teams, but there's no use in getting hung up on 'what-ifs.' 'What's it going to do?' Perry said. 'It's not going to do anything for you now. Get on the plane tomorrow and get some rest and be ready for Game 3.' Few players have spent more time on the ice in the series than Connor McDavid. The Edmonton star played 31:12 in Game 1, and just over 35 minutes in Game 2 — more than anyone else in the game. That's nearly 10 minutes more than his postseason average of 24:22. McDavid's impact was certainly felt on Friday. He had three assists, including one in which he zipped through Florida's penalty kill to set up Draisaitl's power play goal in the first. Draisaitl noted after the game there's only one player in the world that can make such a highlight-reel play, but stressed the importance of using the two days off to recalibrate. 'At this time of year, you've got to move on,' he said, 'There's not time thinking about it too long. Obviously it stings right now, but we have to move on.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
