If I had a playoff wish as an Edmonton Oilers’ fan, it would be that the Oilers face three teams that have beat them in recent Stanley Cup Playoff series and defeat them all on their way to the franchise’s sixth Stanley Cup Crown in 2025. I’m specifically talking about the Vegas Golden Knights, the Winnipeg Jets, and the Florida Panthers. The only series that’s realistic in terms of this wish is the Oilers and Golden Knights Round 2 series starting on May 7.
The Jets and Panthers will have to take care of their own business, and seeing how unpredictable the playoffs have been so far in 2025, you just never know what’s going to happen. I do think the Oilers’ biggest opponent this postseason is themselves.
Getting Big Saves at the Right Time Is Key
You can talk about the team not having a Vezina-Trophy-calibre goaltender providing rock-solid confidence from the crease, but last time I looked, the Oilers’ Calvin Pickard beat out Darcy Kuemper and the Los Angeles Kings in six games. It’s also important to note that Andrei Vasilevskiy looked very ordinary in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s five game first round loss to the Panthers. And, then there’s Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets, who barely got by the St. Louis Blues in their seven game opening round series. Whose to say that Pickard couldn’t write a story for the ages at age 33 and lead the Oilers to the promised land?
He’s looked better than a lot of other Vezina-quality goalies so far, many of whom are earning way more than he is. In fact, Pickard has provided that big save just when the team needed it the most. Sounds a bit like Grant Fuhr and Bill Ranford to me.
Will History Repeat Itself?
When the Oilers won their first Stanley Cup back in 1984, they faced a similar path to the 2024-25 version of the team. They had to overcome their past defeats to the mighty New York Islanders. In 1984, the Islanders went into the Stanley Cup Final on the “Drive for Five”, looking to win their fifth-consecutive Stanley Cup. Before the Stanley Cup Final series began, there was a lot of talk about the Oilers folding like a cheap lawn chair, but the Oilers and Fuhr turned the tide with a 1-0 shutout win, and that win gave them the confidence they needed to overcome an opponent that always seemed to have the upper hand. Does that sound familiar? Haven’t the Golden Knights always seemed to have the Oilers’ number? Noted hockey experts such as Greg Wyshynski of ESPN and Frank Seravalli are both picking the Golden Knights to defeat the Oilers. We’ll see what the Oilers have to say about that.
Oilers’ Biggest Opponent May Be Themselves
I wonder what the pregame talk has been like in the Oilers dressing room among players and coaches, and even whether George Mumford, the Oilers’ mental performance coach, has weighed in with his thoughts. I think the Oilers are battle tested to the point where if you were to ask the players who they deep down would prefer to play, they would say the teams that have taken them out in the past. Most of the time, players don’t really care who their next opponent is; they are just another hurdle to overcome. From a fan perspective, I think it would be sweet redemption if the Oilers were to be able to take out the Golden Knights in Round 2, beat the Jets in the Western Conference Final, and defeat the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. But then again, a Western Conference rematch against the Dallas Stars would be interesting. And, an all Canadian Stanley Cup Final featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs and Oilers would be civil war here in Canada. But I can’t get too far ahead of myself here.
The Oilers need to play their absolute best hockey to beat a Golden Knights team that knows how to win. If the Oilers can somehow exorcize the past playoff defeat at Vegas’ hands in 2023, they could be well on the road to redemption–leaving their past losses behind. We’ll see what happens. If you’re betting against the Oilers, I wouldn’t count them out just yet. Their best teachers have been the teams that have beaten them in the past. Maybe this is the year they finally figure it all out.
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