It wasn’t very long ago that everyone was writing the Edmonton Oilers off in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. They were trailing in the series 3-0 to the Florida Panthers, who had been dominant in every facet of the game.
With nothing to lose heading into Game 4 at home, the Edmonton Oilers put together a statement victory. They won 8-1, gaining some momentum and leaving the Panthers questioning themselves.
Momentum continued mounting in Game 5, as the Oilers picked up a 5-3 victory. They didn’t stop rolling in Game 6, picking up a 5-3 win back in Edmonton. With the series now tied at three wins a piece, they are set to take part in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday night.
In the history of the NHL, there has been only one team to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win the Stanley Cup. That was the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942 against the Detroit Red Wings.
How would the Edmonton Oilers’ comeback in 2024 compare to that one? According to projections shared by ESPN, a victory on Monday night by the Oilers would top what the Maple Leafs did 82 years ago.
In fact, it would be the greatest postseason comeback in the history of sports. According to ESPN, a victory by the Edmonton Oilers would result in the largest championship probability added by a comeback ever.
Should the Oilers win on Monday night, they would have a championship probability added by a comeback of +96.7. Their odds of winning the Stanley Cup Finals were as low as 3.3 percent in the series.
“This Oilers-Panthers series was set up as a referendum on the value of star power (McDavid) versus the superior top-to-bottom team (Florida) … and it seemed like the latter was going to beat the former in decisive fashion. But McDavid is no ordinary star. And because of that, the Oilers are a dangerous team when they get rolling on offense — especially on the power play — while also getting solid play from Skinner in net.
Because they were pre-series underdogs and were outscored 11-4 in Games 1-3, Edmonton had the second-lowest odds of any NHL team to eventually pull off the 3-0 comeback (only the 1975 New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins were lower, at 2.8%), but those odds didn’t reflect how quickly McDavid could help turn his team’s fortunes around,” wrote Neil Paine of ESPN.
The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been historic for Connor McDavid. He broke the record for assists in a single postseason, previously held by Wayne Gretzky. McDavid has 34 assists, with 42 total points, and counting heading into Game 7.
If the Edmonton Oilers are going to complete this remarkable comeback, they will need McDavid to play at a high level. Another strong performance as he had in Games 4 and 5, when he scored three goals with five assists, would certainly do the trick.
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