Kris Knoblauch got his up-close look at how crazed Edmonton is about the OilersB次元官网网址� playoff run thanks to a mix-up with his car keys the night they clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

Knoblauch had to walk home, and in doing so went through a jubilant crowd, a scene he described as B次元官网网址渕ayhem.B次元官网网址� The excitement has only grown since his team that once trailed the Florida Panthers 3-0 in the series has forced a Game 6 back on home ice on Friday night.

B次元官网网址淵ou see the excitement, the flags all over the place, people driving around with Oilers flags and their clothes around town even when itB次元官网网址檚 not a game day,B次元官网网址� Knoblauch said Wednesday. B次元官网网址淵ou can tell this means a lot to the city.B次元官网网址�

It means a lot to generations of fans, some old enough like Darin Winder to remember the Edmonton dynasty of five championships from 1984-90, a glorious run that filled the arena rafters with blue, orange and white banners.

Winder, 55, grew up in nearby Camrose and went to the old Edmonton Gardens with his dad when the Oilers were in the World Hockey Association before joining the NHL and rode the wave of the 2006 run to the Cup final that ended with a seven-game loss to Carolina. Back-to-back wins by the Oilers have fueled hope across Alberta.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a magical run,B次元官网网址� Winder said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 game on. LetB次元官网网址檚 go. Now we got a real shot, right? Two games, we can do that.B次元官网网址�

Two more victories would mean completing a comeback done just once in league history and long ago when the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from down 3-0 to beat the Detroit Red Wings in 1942. The odds remain long, but fans since last week have been putting up B次元官网网址淏ELIEVEB次元官网网址� signs in windows downtown, and thereB次元官网网址檚 no shortage of support for making some history.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been nothing short of extraordinary watching the way that the fans have come together,B次元官网网址� said retired defenseman Shawn Belle, an Edmonton native who played a handful of his NHL games for his hometown club. B次元官网网址淜nowing that the fans have got your back that much and they want to see you win and you really just electrified a city, it almost feels like itB次元官网网址檚 a bit of a responsibility for you to show up every day and bring your best because you know that theyB次元官网网址檙e bringing their best and they paid tons of money to watch you play and it brings out the best qualities in players.B次元官网网址�

From Connor McDavidB次元官网网址檚 heroics putting him in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP to Stuart SkinnerB次元官网网址檚 play in net, the Oilers have brought the best out of the city that lives and breathes hockey. After the 8-1 win to avoid a sweep, the city was awash with people honking their car horns and playing the teamB次元官网网址檚 victory song, B次元官网网址淟a Bamba,B次元官网网址� in the streets.

Asked before the series the best part about living in Edmonton, McDavid said, B次元官网网址渢he passion of the fans.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hey understand the game,B次元官网网址� McDavid said. B次元官网网址淎 long history of great teams and great players going through there. A great fan base.B次元官网网址�

The Oilers are in the final for the first time since B次元官网网址�06, though the championship series was at Rogers Center during the pandemic in a closed-off situation no one liked B次元官网网址� players and fans alike. The city of nearly a million people is the heart of the regionB次元官网网址檚 petroleum industry for which the team was named, and the stunned silence that came with the Oilers falling behind 3-0 last week is long gone now.

One worker at a local cancer treatment center said her patients are riveted by the games. Gretzky and Messier and Fuhr and Kurri jerseys are still popular, but McDavid and Draisaitl are everywhere.

B次元官网网址淭he jerseys that you see walking the streets any given day, the flags on the cars, the fever is huge,B次元官网网址� said Pete Mason, a bartender at a pub down the block from Rogers Place. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 exciting. ItB次元官网网址檚 fun. Is it exhausting? Am I too old for this? Absolutely. But it is fun.B次元官网网址�

And then thereB次元官网网址檚 Friday, with the Stanley Cup in the building for FloridaB次元官网网址檚 third chance to hoist it. But the Panthers will need to deal with a fired up, sellout crowd hoping to will the Oilers to a Game 7 back in Florida on Monday.

After seeing fireworks and flares go off on Whyte Avenue near the bar he manages, Connor Yakabuski expects the atmosphere for Game 6 to be nuts.

B次元官网网址淚 think the city is just going to be wild,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f we win, itB次元官网网址檚 going to be a madhouse.B次元官网网址�

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