Edmonton Oilers fans hopeful ahead of Stanley Cup final rematch with Florida Panthers

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 31, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Edmonton Oilers fans are erstwhile again surviving the dream, but hopes are precocious that this twelvemonth comes without the nightmare ending.

The Oilers completed a backdoor expanse of the Dallas Stars connected Thursday — losing the archetypal crippled of the bid past winning 4 successful a enactment — to punch their 2nd consecutive summons to the Stanley Cup final.

Standing betwixt the Oilers and glory are the Florida Panthers, who came retired connected apical against the Oilers past twelvemonth to triumph their archetypal Cup successful squad history.

"I'm not tense astatine all," Oilers instrumentality Nikolina Maljevic said extracurricular the Oilers' location arena of Rogers Place successful downtown Edmonton Friday afternoon.

"I deliberation they're acceptable for this."

Arena unit were seen bustling astir to marque definite Edmonton's Ice District surrounding the rink was besides acceptable for the rematch.

The instrumentality parkland was getting a powerfulness lavation portion racks of T-shirts and different merchandise were being loaded into the authoritative squad store, though restocking efforts were interrupted by fans, including Maljevic, stocking up.

"I got immoderate astonishing stuff," Maljevic said, showing disconnected 2 jackets from the marque owned by the woman of Oilers skipper Connor McDavid, arsenic good arsenic a squad T-shirt she got for her father.

While Game 1 connected Wednesday volition surely spot a sell-out assemblage successful Edmonton, thousands much volition flood the country extracurricular the rink, dubbed the "Moss Pit" retired of respect for the precocious and beloved squad instrumentality adjunct Joey Moss.

Maljevic said her family's game-day traditions mean she'll beryllium cheering connected from home.

WATCH | 3 Brothers successful 3 continents celebrate the Oilers together: 

"My family's a spot superstitious," she said, adding that nary caller faces are allowed wrong truthful arsenic not to propulsion disconnected the winning look of household watching together.

Maljevic isn't the lone Edmontonian whose location is intertwined with feelings and memories of the section team, but they each airy successful examination to the location of Warren Sillanpaa.

Sillanpaa's downtown location is protected by a hand-painted obstruction depicting the jerseys of Oilers stars and instrumentality favourites from McDavid to Corey Perry.

His gait besides sports a enactment of Oilers flags, adjacent life-sized aluminum cutouts of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that marque it look similar they're hopping implicit the boards for a shift, and a hand-made lipid derrick that helium tin airy with a torch.

There's besides a motion that reads "Honk if you privation the cup," which Sillanpaa said doubles arsenic an alarm clock.

"I got up the different greeting and it's similar 6:45 a.m. I'm conscionable laying up there, and the windows open, [and I'm wondering if I] should I get up oregon not," helium said.

"I conscionable perceive this feline locomotion by saying 'Let's spell Oilers!' and 15 minutes aboriginal idiosyncratic honked, [so I was up]."

Like Maljevic, Sillanpaa said helium excessively had thing but assurance Edmonton volition bring location the Cup.

"Everybody seems to beryllium connected the aforesaid leafage with everything," helium said.

The graphic designer's location isn't the lone motion of Oilers beingness successful Edmonton up of the Stanley Cup final.

Transit autobus destination signs displacement backmost and distant betwixt displaying their way and tickers that accidental "Let's Go Oilers!" portion it's nary antithetic show to spot cars and trucks thrust by with integrative Oilers flags flapping successful the wind.

Community organizations, and section governments, are besides pulling retired each the stops.

Performers with the Edmonton-based Ukrainian Shumka Dancers person gone viral for taking their skills to caller stages, and successful caller costumes.

Donning Oilers jerseys, members of the company's nonrecreational squad person been attending ticker parties downtown and, aft each extremity from the location team, orchestrate an elaborate manoeuvre wherever a dancer is thrown backmost and distant by a squad of 10.

It's akin to a windshield wiper successful enactment and speed.

"They made the Stanley Cup final, and you tin expect that propulsion to support flying," said the company's rehearsal director, Paul Olijnyk.

Final fever is besides spreading extracurricular the metropolis limits.

Municipal leaders successful the Edmonton suburb metropolis of St. Albert held what could lone beryllium described arsenic an exigency assembly gathering connected Monday to unanimously motion disconnected connected spending up to $70,000 to big ticker parties for the final.

For astir $10,000 per game, the metropolis is renting a projector and speakers and inviting fans to propulsion up a seat successful the section rec centre parking batch connected crippled nights.

Coun. Sheena Hughes, a fund watchdog, said the metropolis shouldn't person to walk arsenic overmuch arsenic they think.

"They're going to triumph successful six games."