Oilers join rare company in forcing Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final after trailing 3-0

The Edmonton Oilers became the 211th team to go 3-0 in a series in NHL history last week – they are just one win away from becoming the fifth to complete the comeback.

The Oilers became the 10th team in NHL history to force a seventh game after going three games to zero on Friday after beating the Florida Panthers, 5-1.

After nearly 20,000 fans sang the Canadian national anthem at the top of their lungs, Warren Foegele made them shout even louder, finding the back of the net and giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. As for Florida, they only had two shots on goal in the first half, including one from 170 feet, so it was essentially an accident. It was the fewest shots they had during any period of the year.

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Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

Edmonton started the second period strong, with Adam Henrique scoring just 46 seconds into the period on a 2-on-1 after a full-length pass. Florida's Aleksander Barkov thought he would respond just 10 seconds later, but Edmonton was able to challenge that the Panthers were offside, giving the Oilers a 2-0 lead.

With 1:40 left in the period, Zach Hyman lit the lamp to make it 3-0. The Oilers scored twice midway through the third, despite Florida outshooting them 11-4.

Florida got on the board early in the third with a Barkov goal (for real this time), but it was too little, too late, and the Oilers scored not one, but two empty-netters to for good measure.

Then the crowd chanted loudly: “We want the Cup”.

Edmonton has outscored Florida, 18-5, over the last three games – in the first three they had scored four to Florida's 11.

This is only the third time the Stanley Cup will see a seventh game after a team leads 3-0, and the first since 1945 – the Toronto Maple Leafs won both of those games, completing the comeback in 1942, then saving himself from embarrassment three years later.

Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

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This is the first 3-0 comeback in the league since the Los Angeles Kings did it in the first round of the 2014 playoffs – they won Game 7 and ultimately won the Cup, winning two more games 7 in the process.

The last Big 4 team to force a Game 7 after being down 3-0 was last year's Boston Celtics. They lost to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but got their revenge earlier this week by winning their first game. NBA title since 2008. They were the fourth NBA team to even the series, but none won it after facing a three-game deficit.

Only the 2004 Boston Red Sox completed a return to Major League Baseball – the 2020 Houston Astros nearly joined them, but lost Game 7 of the ALCS to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Edmonton Oilers center Adam Henrique (19) celebrates his goal with his teammates against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

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Game 7 of this series will be back in Sunrise, Florida, where almost everyone will be in a panic Monday night.

With a victory, it will be the Oilers' first Cup since 1990 and Canada's first since 1993.

This would also mark the second straight year the Panthers lost in the Finals, after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights last year.

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