I don’t know why the Edmonton Oilers game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, Feb. 6 makes me think of Game 1 of the 1984 Stanley Cup Final. But it does. Back then their biggest hurdle in reaching the promised land was the New York Islanders. And when Grant Fuhr got a 1-0 shutout, and Kevin McLelland scored the only goal, you just knew the Oilers were going to win the Stanley Cup. Fast forward to Feb. 6, 2024. The Oilers are unbeaten in 16 games, and could tie the all-time NHL record for 17 wins in a row if they beat their nemesis the Golden Knights. It’s a big game because there’s so much more
When the Golden Knights took out the Oilers in last season’s playoffs on the way to their first Stanley Cup, they left a lot of damage for the Oilers in their wake. And more than a few questions: Could Connor McDavid and Leon Drains Airlines ever win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton? Is Stuart Skinner a good enough goaltender to win it all? Will the Oilers ever learn to play defence after surrendering the lead in so many key moments of their series with the Golden Knights? Some of these questions haven’t really been answered…yet. But if the Oilers were to win on Feb. 6 in Vegas and tie the consecutive win record, you might start to believe that they’ve matured into legit contenders for the Stanley Cup in 2024.
A win for the Oilers would also bring them to within three points of the Golden Knights with five games in hand. So there’s that as well. This game could be one of the most important, and most historic regular season games in Oilers’ history. Obviously not quite as big as the Game 1 victory over the Islanders in the 1984 Stanley Cup Final. But possibly worthy of being in the conversation as one of the biggest games in Oilers’ history in the regular season.
Leave a Reply