Hockey world buzzing about Game 7 Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers

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Stanley Cup Final, Game 7.

The words evoke thrills and fears.

The hockey world is on edge waiting for Monday night’s game between comeback kings of the Edmonton Oilers and the the struggling Florida Panthers.

The Internet is on fire with commentary.

Here are some of the highlights of what writers, commentators and fans are saying on social media:

Hockey writer Paul Pidutti @AdjustedHockey
A reminder why they play the games. #LetsGoOilers season in review:
✔️ Start 2-9-1
✔️ Fire coach
✔️ Fall 10 points from playoffs
✔️ Win 16 straight games
✔️ Go down 2-1 in Round 2
✔️ Bench starting goalie
✔️ Go down 2-1 in Round 3
✔️ Go down 3-0 in Finals
❓ Win #StanleyCup?

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Edmonton fan Oilers Ent @oilers_ent
We beat Carolina 4-0 in game six of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. And then went down 1-0 in the first couple minutes of game seven. We never recovered. I’ll believe we’ve won this series once the final buzzer goes and we have more goals than they do.

Florida sports podcaster Joe Robbie @JoeRobbie_
Edmonton doing all of that just to lose in Game 7 is going to be the funniest shit ever. Cats in 7 IDGAF

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Oilers fan Ally @MrsLethal
Is it just me or are the Oilers getting better every game? 🤯

Florida NFL reporter Adam Beasley @AdamHBeasley
How did the Panthers win three games in this series?

Oilers fan Bookjie @Bookjie
If you do the math, in these playoffs, the Oilers are about 2x as likely to get scored on in 2 minutes of regular strength play than they are when they have a penalty (it’s true).

Oilers fan Romulus’ Apotheosis @RomulusNotNuma
hits different now when you say “just win the next one”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice
Game 7, Stanley Cup Final, it is set for every young man’s dreams. Nobody ever dreamt about a Game 4 overtime winner. It’s always Game 7.

Oilers commentator Rob Brown on Got Yer Back podcast
Right now the Florida Panthers want a rewind. Because right now they are one 60 minute game away from becoming a trivia question and answer, and that’s got to be pretty scary and sad moment for them compared to where they were seven or eight days ago.

Ontario hockey writer Sean McIndoe Down Goes Brown @DownGoesBrown
Would a Panthers loss be the biggest collapse in NHL history?
Yes, and it’s not even close.
They’ve got one more game to avoid infamy.

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Panthers fan Bryan @Metalpanthers
This is the spot the Panthers have put themselves in. One game will decide if they are champions or the butt end of all jokes forever. Disgusted we are in this spot, but let’s hope the pressure creates a diamond

Senior hockey writer Stan Fischler @StanFischler
Hyman deserves as much acclaim as the Captain.

Former NHL ref and analyst Dave Jackson @ESPNRefNHL
2 still-shots of the puck still in contact with the blue line while teammate’s skate fully breaks the plane. When enhanced and enlarged on an HD monitor it is conclusive. 2nd pic you can only see part of the puck below heel of the stick.

Former NHL ref Tim Peel @TimCPeel20
Game 7 baby! McDavid doesn’t even get a point and Oilers win. If I’m the Florida Panthers I’m actually depressed. Oilers in 7? I have no idea who is going to win 7!

Panthers podcaster Jacob Langsman @PTPJacob
This team had better find their guts before Monday. No matter how bad the last three games have been, you’re still only one win away from etching your name in hockey history for a good reason. If the Oilers could pull it together, then the Panthers can too. Figure it out.

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ESPN hockey columnist Greg Wyshynski @wyshynski
Is this a Florida Panthers choke or an Edmonton Oilers miracle? Can the Cats possibly win this thing in Game 7…
Look, I’m willing to believe a lot of what the Panthers are saying after Game 6, but I refuse to believe that blowing a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final is something you “dream of as a little kid.”

Panther fan Jacob Winans @JacobWinans8
I think Monday will be the least nervous I’ve ever been for a game 7 because I truly have zero belief that they will win and I have zero expectation of winning. It pains me so much to say that, but it feels like this series is already lost. This team looks absolutely shattered

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman
I can’t wait until Game 7. I’m really excited. I always momentum doens’t exist in the playoffs. Pffff! It sure exits right now. Who is stopping this gigantic snowball coming down the hill? ”

Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe
We’re a confident group. They’re here for a reason; we’re here for a reason. It’s the Stanley Cup Final. They’re a really good team and it’s for us to come back and respond next game.

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AP sports writer Josh Dubow @JoshDubowAP
This is 1st time in Connor McDavid’s career that the Oilers won a game he played in but didn’t have a shot or a point. It had happened only 7 times before tonight (5 as a rookie in 2015-16, 3/31/18 vs Flames, 3/30/21 vs Canadiens)

Panther fan Bryan @Metalpanthers
My love for this franchise is as strong as literally anyone on this earth , and right now I am telling you that I will have zero desire to watch next year if they lose Game 7. I’ve seen them finish last tons of times. I watched them almost relocate. This would hurt the worst of all…

Oilers radio commentator Jason Gregor @JasonGregor
Stuart Skinner improves to 10-0 in Games 4-7. He has a .943Sv% and a 1.40 GAA.

Sports1440 radio producer Connor Halley @ConnorHalley
Years from now historians will study this Oilers penalty kill

NHL insider John Shannon @JShannonhl
I know there’s a lot of discussion about #97 winning the Conn Smythe… But the reality for Connor McDavid is that he could care less about having his own name engraved on that trophy…and only cares about having 52 Oilers’ names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

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Oilers fan Kennedy @kennedystrash
i love this team so much

Oilers fan James Gronau @JamesGronau
What a great morning. Glad everyone had fun last night. Now, 1 more!

Edmonton Journal asst. managing editor Trevor Robb @TrevorRobb_
Spec: “These commercial flights are killing us old guys.”

Draisaitl: “I don’t feel bad for you.” 😂😂

Oilers fan Matt Henderson Arch @Archaeologuy
Lots of people asking about Knoblauch’s big balls challenging that offside, but it seems obvious to me that when your PK is 46 for its last 47 you can make a margin call like that. Maurice says he wouldn’t have made that call. Well yeah, he doesn’t trust his team

Panthers fan Bryan @Metalpanthers
I, like any diehard Panther fan, feel extremely deflated this morning. And yet… if we Win on Monday this nightmare of the last week evaporates like it never happened.

Oilers fan Danoooooo @dan_dd
Question Oilers fans. If Edmonton has Gretzky Drive and Mark Messier Trail, what road should be renamed for Connor Brown?

Strictly Canucks Talk @SCTShow
Canucks core has to be watching the oilers dominate and thinking man we were sooo close and didn’t even have demmer 😪

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Hockey player agent Allan Walsh🏒 @walsha
Only the NHL would schedule Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on a Monday night and not foresee in advance the potential bonanza (if the Finals go 7 games) of playing it on the weekend.

Vancouver radio announcer Don Taylor @DonTaylor5
Edmonton forces a game 7! What does this say about the Oilers? What does this say about the Panthers?…..What does this say about the Canucks?

Oilers fan Sumit Tripathi @Sumit_Tripathi_
Foegele and McLeod have been absolute insane in the finals. Have absolutely absolved themselves of their previous sins

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NHL insider Jeff Marek
I’m really jealous of everybody that was at that rink in Edmonton on Friday night for that game, and that experience, and that noise.

Panthers Polls @PanthersPolls
Also not criticizing, but… if you can’t have faith in your team in the finals when they are one win away… idk man. I’ve been watching this team since 93. I’m as jaded as they come. This is why we love this team.. to be in this position. Faith! Support! LETS GOOOOO

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Panthers fan Barry Rothman @BarryARothman
For those crying about the Panthers losing and bemoaning the unfairness, try having perspective. It’s a sports team. The agony and ecstasy of being a fan is part and parcel of the journey. You’re not suffering a life-threatening disease. So buck up and enjoy it for what it is.

Sportsnet fantasy hockey writer Michael Amato @amato_mike
Anything can happen in a Game 7 but one thing is for certain…..one of these teams is going to lose the Stanley Cup in the most soul-crushing way possible.

Panthers fan Dylan @miamiguydylan
I thought not winning a playoff series in 26 years was enough heartbreak. I thought Ross Colton in 2022 was enough heartbreak. I thought John Tavares in 2016 was enough heartbreak. I thought Adam Henrique in 2012 was enough heartbreak. But this is a different beast

NHL player David Perron @DP_57
Over the next 2-3 days, these players/team members will experience something they have probably never experienced! The nerves, the highs the lows, managing all that, not wasting any energy in the wrong areas, being proud of who they have done this whole ride with! My goodness I envy them! Good luck to both teams! Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals will be a special one once again!

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Florida sports director Will Manso
Monday is either going to be the greatest day in Florida Panthers history. Or the biggest collapse in NHL history.

Edmonton sportswriter Shane Jones @realshanejones
I think we’re at the point where we can say the Edmonton Oilers’ season is not just the craziest up-and-down campaign in hockey history, but maybe in all of sports.

Panthers fan Max Horowitz @themoose0221
For every Panthers fan that tried to shame other Panthers fans for being negative and losing faith and criticizing the team: you either haven’t been watching this franchise long enough or you choose to be blissfully ignorant. Go f*ck yourselves.

NHL insider of The Daily Faceoff Frank Seravalli @frank_seravalli
In a Stanley Cup Final for the ages, it was a night no one in Oil Country will forget. And Zach Hyman, the #NHL’s only 70-goal scorer this season, was right in the middle of everything coming up Edmonton.

Sportsnet columnist Mark Spector @SportsnetSpec
How far have the Oilers come over the past week? They win Game 6 without a point from McDavid, who saves a goal and is Crosby-like in a total team win. They’re rolling now, all the way back to Sunrise.

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Big Head Hockey @BigHeadHcky
Canada in Stanley Cup Finals game 7s in the last 30 years:
2011 — Vancouver loses Game 7 in Finals
2006 — Edmonton loses Game 7 in Finals
2004 — Calgary loses Game 7 in Finals
1994 — Vancouver loses Game 7 in Finals
Is Edmonton breaking the streak?

The Athletic hockey writer Scott Wheeler @scottcwheeler
The Oilers have been the better team in this series. My Stanley Cup deserve to win o’meter favours them. I hope they pull this off. Am I allowed to say that?

Florida hockey podcaster Jacob Langsman @PTPJacob
Y’know, for all the fanbases dancing on our graves already, there are still 30 teams who would rather be where we are than where they are and anyone who would say otherwise is a liar.

Potential Liberal leadership candidate and Oilers fan Mark Carney @MarkJCarney
Spectacular. Absolutely relentless. Time to bring the Cup home where it belongs. #LetsGoOilers

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Hockey writer Arthur Staple @StapeAthletic
Two things:
— There’s zero appetite among NHL GMs to get rid of offside replay. Won’t happen, so wishing for it is a waste of time.
— Change that should happen: Once the puck touches the blue line on an entry, it’s in the zone. Would reduce the millimeter reviews by a lot.

Oilers fan Rob Soria @Oil_Drop
It really will be interesting to see what Knoblauch decides to do in Gm 7. Yes, the Oilers have won three straight but if Kane can legitimately play & do his thing, he has to play over Ryan. The faceoff thing is the only argument. Not having a 4C for Gm 7 is a non-issue.

Panther fan Bryan Garfield @BryanG_3
Heres what you do in game 7
1. Switch Lundell and Bennett
– I know the third lines been good and Bennetts been good but I think you need to slow the pace down when the second line is out there because of how many minutes they are playing against the McDavid line.
2. Offensive zone structure needs to change.
– F3 needs to play much more conservatively, your goal should basically to be that you never give up an odd man rush, the Oilers are creating all their offense from it.
3. Tarasenko takes Verhaeghes spot on the PP
– Edmonton is forcing Verhaeghe to make plays on the wing and hes crumbling. Let the veteran handle it… Another option is put Tkachuk on the wall and add Bennett, force a lot more at the net and get Reinhart/Bennett in front.

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Panthers fan ya gurl lex @alexabertrandd
in all seriousness, what the players are doing to this fanbase is cruel. it took 30 years to finally get to a place where we had a team we could believe in just to have that hope ripped away. looks like it’s 1993 and we’re once again the laughing stock of the league.

Panthers fan Joey @_TheJetsSuck_
I’m not even joking when I say this. This is arguably the biggest game for any team in the history of sports. Win and you win your first championship in your history. If you lose it’s the biggest choke in the history of mankind. The swing is indescribable.

Social media manager of the Lebatard sports radio show in Miami Ethan Budowsky @ethanbudowsky
A Game 7 on your home ice for the f*cking Stanley Cup. Don’t care how it happened. What else could you ask for?

Florida sports host Frank J. Forte @FrankJForte
The Panthers have lost their mojo..I would argue McDavid stole it for games 4,5..last night idk what the heck that was..we’ve been through so much as fans of this team, this would be the ultimate gut punch…

My take

1. This will be a once in a lifetime event for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. It’s rare enough that a team makes the Stanley Cup Final, but to take it to Game 7 is even more precious. As for the possibility of coming back from being down three games to zero, that appears to happen in the NHL about once every century in the Stanley Cup Final.

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This is as special an experience as it gets for a hockey fan, maybe approaching the mad intensity and uniqueness of the 1972 Team Canada – Soviet Union summit series, when Team Canada won the series by taking the final three games.

2. I’d like to say I’ll enjoy Game 7, but I can’t help but agree with the Florida sports host who frames the game as “the ultimate gut punch.” He’s saying that if Florida loses it will be that kind of hurt for Panthers fans, but the game itself will have that vibe for fans of both teams, at least for me. The tension will be painful and severe, even if the outcome is already written in the stars.

May the best team win.

And we all know which team is best, right?

At the Cult of Hockey

McCURDY: Player grades for huge Oilers win in Game 7

STAPLES: “From one of the worst Stanley cup finals to the BEST”: Hockey world reacts to Edmonton Oilers slamming Florida Panthers in Game 6

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