Oh, rats.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 latest attempt to bring the Stanley Cup home died dramatically on the edge of the Everglades on Monday, leaving fans from Edmonton to Florida thrilled at the ride but crushed at the destination.
The Oilers fell one game short of a comeback for the ages, winning three in a row to tie the final series only to drop the deciding Game 7 to the Florida Panthers by a score of 2-1.
Thousands of fans who packed the plaza outside EdmontonB次元官网网址檚 Rogers Place stood in stunned silence watching on a big screen as Panthers players celebrated behind their net and the Florida crowd littered the ice with their trademark good-luck black plastic rats.
Some in Edmonton threw their drinks toward the big screen, a few gave hugs to those standing in sadness, others started walking out with their hands jammed in their pockets.
Inside the arena, about 16,000 also watched in dismay on the big screen as the game wound down.
B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 put ourselves in the greatest position, going down 3-0,B次元官网网址� said Tayo Yachimec.
B次元官网网址淏ut we battled back. We came close in the endB次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a little bit tough to take, but it is what it is,B次元官网网址� added Christopher Alucema.
The consolation, he said, is two months watching playoff games in the rink and on the plaza, cheering with his friend, surrounded by fans.
B次元官网网址淚t was worth every penny. IB次元官网网址檇 do it again if I had to,B次元官网网址� Alucema said. B次元官网网址�(ItB次元官网网址檚 a) lifetime of memories I donB次元官网网址檛 think IB次元官网网址檒l ever forget.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e had a good run,B次元官网网址� said Gerard Pattenden.
B次元官网网址�(But) itB次元官网网址檚 bringing back the old memories of B次元官网网址�06. We get to the finals and we lose Game 7.
B次元官网网址淚t kind of sucks.B次元官网网址�
Blue and orange fans were also a large and vocal contingent in the Florida rink. A rough eyeball count of tailgate parties under palm trees out front put about half in the Oilers camp, half for the Panthers.
At one point, the Edmonton faithfulB次元官网网址檚 chant of B次元官网网址淕o Oilers Go!B次元官网网址� overpowered the local contingentB次元官网网址檚 cry of B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 Go Panthers!B次元官网网址�
It was a disheartening end to two months of playoff madness in Edmonton.
Fans chalked up streets, got tattoos, wore jerseys and flew Oilers flags from all manner of motorized transport, including a faux Zamboni.
The Oilers were on the verge of history, repeating a feat accomplished only once in the history of the NHL, when the wartime 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs were down three games and came back to win four in a row to take the Cup.
The near-victory captured the national imagination, but more so in Edmonton. The city already has five Stanley Cups but for decades has been feeding off the scraps of faded glory from the Wayne Gretzky glory days of the 1980s.
The Stanley waiting game continues for the rest of Canada, which has not had a Cup winner since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
Canadian teams have since come close, sometimes achingly so, to snatching Stanley back.
Five times they pushed opponents to a seventh and deciding game before going home empty-handed: Vancouver in 1994 and 2011; Calgary in 2004; Edmonton in 2006, and again on Monday.
Through much of the last century, the trophy had more or less held permanent resident status in Canada B次元官网网址� commuting between Toronto and Montreal, and relocating to hang with Gordie Howe and company in Detroit for a spell in the 1950s.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Stanley alternated between Canada and the U.S., mainly shuttling between Montreal and Edmonton along with homes on the U.S. East Coast, notably Long Island.
By the 1990s, it was goodbye Canada. Stanley was squired away by the New York Rangers in 1994. From Broadway, Stanley hit the road to California and New England, Vegas to Florida, the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt. He partied with Penguins, weather systems and natural disasters: Hurricanes, Avalanches and Lightning. He was a Blackhawk, a Blue, a Star, a Duck.
And now, a Panther.
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