The Oilers must move on quickly from their Game 7 loss
A busy off-season has already started
A comeback for the ages fell just short last night as the Edmonton Oilers lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in a nail-biting Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. After becoming the first team in 79 years to force a deciding game in the championship series after trailing 3-0, the Oilers came agonizingly close to joining the 1942 Maple Leafs as the only clubs to complete the rally. But the reinvigorated Panthers held on to capture the first Stanley Cup in franchise history and prevent the Oilers from becoming the first Canadian team to win the Cup in 31 years.
Another big trophy did go to an Oiler though, as Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. He’s the first player from the losing team to get the award in 21 years and just the second non-goalie, after Philadelphia forward Reggie Leach in 1976.
Florida fans booed the choice (they wanted Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky), but McDavid was the correct pick. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most assists in a post-season with 34 (in 25 games), while his 42 points were the fourth-most ever and just five shy of the Great One’s record. McDavid fuelled the Oilers’ comeback with an incredible eight points in Games 4 and 5, and even when he didn’t get on the scoresheet (which was the case in Games 6 and 7) he was the best player on the ice and a scoring-chance machine.
