It never gets old for Corey Perry, now in his sixth Stanley Cup final
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'We've got some guys who don't know that feeling (Jeff Skinner after 1,078 league games). We said after Game 7 (loss in Florida last June) we would be back. And we are back,' said Perry.
It never gets old for Perry, being on one of the last two teams standing.
Now Perry is old, at least what is says on his birth certificate. But not at work.
'What is he, 56?' kidded his friend and former Anaheim Ducks teammate Kevin Bieksa on SportsNet Thursday night after Perry, who turned 40 two weeks ago scored the Edmonton Oilers ' first goal, flipping one off Stars' goalie Jake Oettinger's arm and into the Dallas net on the power play.
Perry's seven goals are remarkably the same as Leon Draisaitl has through the Oilers 16-game run to another Cup finals matchup with Florida Panthers. Only the ousted Mikko Rantanen (Dallas) and Sam Bennett (Florida), who have nine, and Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov (eight) have more than Perry. Chew on that.
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CTV News
an hour ago
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Oilers not limping into this Stanley Cup Final against Panthers
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Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Oilers are not limping into this Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers
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Vancouver Sun
8 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Don't expect Florida Panthers to jump the Edmonton Oilers this time
There haven't been many times in Stanley Cup Finals history that a teams wins three of the last four games and doesn't lift the trophy. Unfortunately for the Edmonton Oilers , last year's final was over before it started. Florida got the jump on them and by the time the Oilers recovered they were down 3-0. Credit them for pushing back to turn a sweep into a dramatic seventh game, but that slow start was a killer and it can't happen again. Now that the Oilers know what it's like to be in a Stanley Cup Final — perhaps the last piece of experience this ever-evolving team ever need — there is good reason to believe things will be different this time. 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. 'There is obviously a sense of calm having gone through this scenario last year,' said defenceman Darnell Nurse. 'That said, (Florida) is here for a third time, so they're going to have that sense as well. 'I know for our group it's definitely a different feeling than going into last year. Going through it the first time, there were a lot of moments where you were really exited. For us this year, the level of excitement isn't as heightened as before. We know the task and the job that needs to be done.' They might not win it all, but getting caught flat-footed out of the gate doesn't seem likely for a team that's thought about little else for the last 11 months than Game 1. 'Our makeup of the team is a bit different than last year,' said defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who'll be in his third career final when the Oilers host Florida Wednesday night at Rogers Place. 'Not a lot of guys had been that far in the playoffs before. So it's good to have that and to be calm with that, guys being calm in situations that are pretty stressful and being able to deliver under pressure. When you've been there and seen it there are no real surprises along the way.' These aren't a bunch of wide-eyed first-timers anymore. This is a group that's weathered every storm there is to weather in this game, faced every possible stressor. It's a team that's 12-2 in its last 12 games against Western Conference heavyweights Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas. 'We have a different mood,' said head coach Kris Knoblauch. 'Last year was new to us, we didn't know what the Stanley Cup Final was going to be like. 'And, also, the way we went into it. Game 6 against Dallas last year we didn't play our best game (outshot 34-10). We did win it but it wasn't our strongest game. It's a little bit different (this time). 'But the biggest change is we've been here before — we've done the press conferences, we've answered the questions about what it's like to be in the Stanley Cup Final. 'We know what to expect. We've seen this team before. There are a lot of familiar things about this.' Teams gain a wealth of experience in every playoff round they win, or lose. But there is something different about the final. Things get amped to an entirely different level when you're four wins away from lifelong dream and every hockey fan in the world, and players from 30 other teams, are watching. They always think they're ready, but history shows that most teams aren't. The list of teams that needed a couple of chances to break though is a lot longer than the list of teams who lift the trophy on their first try. 'It's the ultimate, it's the biggest stage in hockey, it's the highest stakes of games you can play,' said Ekholm. 'It's the series that everybody wants to be in. Being in that can be stressful, but both teams have a lot of experience in that so it's going to be a different atmosphere. Everybody knows what's going on. This is what everybody wants.' Nurse says it wasn't just the big stage that caught Edmonton off guard, it was how hard the Panthers came out of the gate. They seemed one-step faster. They were harder. They had the taste of a previous year's Cup final defeat in their mouths and it showed. 'They came out and played better in those first three games, there were a couple of close ones where they made one more play than we did,' he said. 'For us, knowing the importance of the start of the series and the importance of every moment, we have to take that to another level this year.' Coming back from adversity is what the Oilers do best. They came back from 2-0 down to win four-straight against the Kings. They didn't lose another game to Vegas after giving up the winning goal with .4 seconds left in Game 3. And they ran the table after giving up five third-period goals in Game 1 against the Stars. Now, they have to comeback after what Florida did to them last year. 'That's the biggest strength of this team,' said Ekholm. 'Every time we have our backs against the wall we respond and we play our best hockey.' E-mail: rtychkowski@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
