Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner skates during practice in Edmonton on June 20, ahead of Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup final on Friday.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
The Oilers were displaced from the Rogers Place ice on Thursday because of a Snoop Dogg concert. They moved practice to an adjacent community rink while Snoop’s tour bus was parked in front of the JW Marriott across the street.
Interviews with players and head coach Kris Knoblauch were conducted in Studio 99, Wayne Gretzky’s restaurant, on the fifth floor of the arena. Connor McDavid, Stuart Skinner, Mattias Ekholm, Corey Perry and Knoblauch answered questions surrounded by some of the Great One’s mementoes: his sole road jersey from Edmonton’s inaugural season in the NHL; his World Hockey Association rookie-of-the-year trophy from 1978-1979; the Lester B. Pearson Award he received in 1982 from the NHL Players Association as the league’s most outstanding player; Hart Memorial trophies, sweaters from the Soo Greyhounds and Indianapolis Racers and so much more.
It was a scheduling snafu, but somehow it felt appropriate for these Oilers to be in such a hallowed venue one day before they will try to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final. They have won two elimination games and need to do it once more to have a chance at capturing Edmonton’s sixth Stanley Cup but first since 1990.
They are loose and after falling into a 3-0 hole to the Panthers are playing with house money. All of the pressure is on Florida. A four-game collapse in the final would live on in hockey infamy. In the NHL it has happened once in 106 years.
Skinner joked about how he liked McDavid because Edmonton’s captain always lets him win games on the plane. Ekholm used a day off on Wednesday to attend his six-year-old son’s community league soccer game. One of his boy’s teammates was excited and asked to meet the bulky defenceman.
Edmonton is primed for Friday’s Game 6. Fans dress in Oilers’ gear whether it’s a game day or not. Cars fly team flags. Horns blare. Ear-splitting cheers erupt on the streets and add to the bedlam.
Skinner was born and raised in Edmonton, the youngest of nine siblings all of whose first names start with an ‘S.’ He was seven the last time the Oilers were in a final.
This is his second season as a starting goaltender after taking the job away from Jack Campbell last year. He struggled a bit in earlier rounds but has been outstanding over the last two. He has outplayed Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, a future Hall of Famer, thus far in the final series, and that is no easy task.
He is enjoying the moment: During Edmonton’s Game 5 victory he was bobbing his head to the music as it was played inside Amerant Bank Arena.
“I’d love to give you a simple answer about finding the key to success, but it is a byproduct of the experiences I go through and how I deal with them,” Skinner said. “Whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, the key is all about how you respond. For myself it is just trying to give my team a chance to win every night.”
Skinner hasn’t been out mowing the grass and has sent his wife Chloe to get groceries to avoid getting mobbed in the produce aisle.
“Being in a position like this is amazing for the city,” he said. “A lot of people are having a lot of fun and enjoying themselves. There is a ton of energy in the city for good reason. For me it is about enjoying it. It’s really hard to get in a situation like this. To embrace this moment that you have worked so hard for is all you do.”
The Oilers dragged the Panthers back to Edmonton and hope to drag them back to Sunrise, Fla., for a Game 7 on Monday. It is more than 4,000 kilometres each way.
“There is no fatigue,” McDavid said. He has already broken Gretzky’s assist record with 34 during the playoffs. He has eight goals to go along with them and can tie Gretzky’s points record with five over the remainder of the series. “I am excited to be back in Edmonton, and to play in front of our fans.
“You spend your life working to get into a position like this. That’s always been a plan for our group, to be able to play big games at home in big moments. It’s just another one Friday night.”