What drives the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals? Probably a combination of love, pride, and passion for the game of hockey.
As the puck is dropped on Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday, the players have to reach back and find the energy to excel on the NHL’s grandest stage. After 82 regular-season games, followed by several rounds in the postseason to emerge as the last two teams standing, the winners of the Western Conference and Eastern Conference have their most meaningful series ahead.
This rematch of last spring’s Stanley Cup Finals has many subplots adding intrigue to the Canada-United States shuttle. Can the Panthers, in the Finals for a third consecutive season, repeat as champions? Will Edmonton get revenge for last season’s best-of-seven game defeat? With the Panthers scheduled to depart from balmy Sunrise, Florida, 30 miles northwest of Miami, on Tuesday, what, if any, effect could the 3,000-mile journey north have on their performance?
Who better to chime in on the factors the competitors will face in the Finals than someone who has gone through the process multiple times? Bobby Holik, a former center and veteran of 18 NHL seasons, offered his opinions on myths and facts surrounding the Stanley Cup Finals as he spoke with The Epoch Times by phone on Tuesday from his South Carolina home.
Holik played for three New Jersey Devils teams that reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
“For me, it wasn’t about a championship ring. It wasn’t about the money. Once we reached the Finals, I wanted to show the world that we were the best team,” said Holik, whose Devils teams won two Cups—1995 and 2000—and lost to the Colorado Rockies in 2001.
“Fatigue wasn’t an issue. When you are playing in the Finals, you don’t let injuries or being tired factor into your performances. Remember, both teams are in the same boat.”
How badly each team wants to be at the top of the NHL mountain will come out. Pushing each other to physical levels not previously experienced is the goal in the Finals. There is plenty of time in the off-season to rest and recuperate.
“As long as the Oilers and Panthers show discipline and continue to do what brought them as far as the Finals, it should be a close series. Players have to stick with their roles. Travel shouldn’t make a difference in what goes on at the rink. Once teams get to the arenas, lace up their skates, tape their sticks, and get into their uniforms, each player should be ready to go and block out everything else,” said Holik, a two-time NHL all-star while with the Devils.
As prepared as both the Panthers and Oilers will be for their Finals rematch, individual players are zeroing in on the media for secondary plots surrounding the games. You don’t have to look any further than Oilers’ right wing Corey Perry for good copy. During his second year in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, Perry was on the winning side of the Finals. That was in 2006–2007. Since experiencing the ultimate NHL high so early in his all-star career, Perry, 40, has appeared in the Finals five of the last six seasons without coming away with a ring—so far. He has seen ice time with five different teams in the NHL Cup Finals.
Can Perry get the proverbial monkey off his back this time around and hoist the Stanley Cup with his teammates while taking victory laps on the ice? Many sets of eyeballs are focused on the ‘Perry Factor.’
Then there is the work ahead for Panthers’ General Manager Bill Zito immediately following the final Cup game. Keeping his eye on the prize in the Finals is a given, but there’s also no forgetting which of the Panthers are now eligible for free agency. Could this be the last hurrah for the Panthers as one of the NHL’s elite teams, should Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad, or Sam Bennett bolt for a bigger paycheck elsewhere?
So much is at stake for each team and their fan base that coming in second this go-around could mean falling down the ladder of NHL dominance next season.
The journey to the Finals, starting with the opening round of play, truly can bond a roster.
“The first round of the postseason, for me, was the hardest,” Holik said. “Once our games started, I was able to focus better on my job on the ice.
“You start out in the pre-season as a team, and some of the guys you may not be friends with or know well. But it’s the journey through the regular season, and the Finals that you feel you have grown together for a common goal.”
By June 20, the latest, the Stanley Cup will have been won by either the Oilers or Panthers. A victory will have been celebrated with a parade in Sunrise or Edmonton. Free agency season will kick in shortly thereafter. Right now, especially in the two Finals’ host cities, NHL fans are in a ‘hockey state of mind’ that few get to experience.
Blow the whistle! Let the Stanley Cup Finals begin.
