They tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, the Edmonton Oilers and their fans were left with a sense of déjà vu.
For the second year in a row, Edmonton lost in the Stanley Cup final to the Florida Panthers, extending Canada’s three-decade long drought.
The Panthers defeated the Oilers 5-1 on home ice, to secure their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
“Lost to a really good team,” a muted Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after the Game 6 in Florida with a shrug of defeat. “Nobody quit. Nobody threw the towel in… They’re a heck of a team.
“They’re Stanley Cup champions back to back for a reason.”
Some 4,100 kilometres away in downtown Edmonton, a hush fell over the packed crowd in the Moss Pit watch party outside Rogers Place arena, as the clocked ticked down and the score remained too far apart.
Dejected fans who had placed such high hopes on their team patted each other on the back, consoled one another with hugs, and began clearing out early and quietly.
“We put it all on the ice. It was good,” said Taygen Mercier. Her friend Jordyn Soucy feels Edmonton ran out of gas early.
“I think we had more momentum last year – this year, we had a lot of ups and downs,” Soucy said.
Regardless, both women said they are very proud of both the team and Edmontonians.
“It’s our city — we’re proud to live here, we’re proud of our boys,” Mercier said. Soucy agreed.
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“This is the best part of Edmonton, the best part about being in Alberta — the best time of the year by far. There’s nothing like downtown in Edmonton in playoff season.”
Post-game, it was a sombre scene in the Moss Pit after weeks of gatherings outside the arena brought together passionate fans from all walks of life, united by one common goal.
“I think it’s cool for the city — like, everybody’s kind of tied together,” said fan Tyler Burns. “Nobody cares about backgrounds or anything or where you’re from, so it’s a pretty cool, nice experience here.”
Despite the loss, many fans saw the bright side to the marathon that is the quest to the Stanley Cup final.
“The city was so alive,” said fan Yasmine Soufli. “This game, this playoffs really brought Edmonton together.
“All of us, it felt like a community, and I’m so proud of how connected this community became, it meant the world, and we should have gotten the cup.
Fans far and wide tuned into the game.
“Win or lose, each and every member of the Edmonton Oilers should hold their head high. Was one heck of run!” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on social media.
“Alberta is proud of you and you’ll be back fighting for the Cup again soon!”
The Oilers are the first team to lose consecutive finals to the same team since the Boston Bruins fell to the Montreal Canadiens in both 1977 and 1978.
The last time a Canadian team won hockey’s most coveted trophy was in 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens brought it north of the 49th parallel.
Canadian teams have had their chances at ending the curse. They have appeared in seven finals since 1993, including the Oilers previously in 2024 and 2006, but none have been able to end the country’s lengthy Cup lockout.
Teams in the U.S. Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times — four of them in Florida.
Burns and his friend Ben Hilliar suspect the loss of Zach Hyman, who dislocated his wrist in Game 4 of the Western Conference final and was done for the season, hurt the team in the finals.
“Losing him was horrible. We really needed him,” Hilliar said.
“Hyman was kind of the only physical player we had on the team for a while there, especially against Florida last year, he was the only one who could play their game and not get penalties,” Burns said.
“Losing him was pretty heartbreaking.”
The Oilers will now go back to the drawing board and see if their talented cast, including superstars McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, can take another shot at leading Edmonton to its first title since their dynasty days led by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and others.
Edmonton took the Stanley Cup home five times between the 1983-84 and the 1989-90 seasons.
“I’ve been an Oilers fan for years and they had good efforts, they had good games during the season. I won’t forget all those good moments and I still give them credit because they tried their best,” said fan Crystal Tremblay.
“All we can do is hope for next year.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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