By the numbers: Oilers, Panthers, and Game 7 history
Those who expected the Stanley Cup Final to need a Game 7 when the Florida Panthers went up 3-0 against the Edmonton Oilers back on June 13 are probably lying. But here we are, 10 days later, a mere day away from the ultimate winner-take-all event in hockey.
The Oilers already silenced most of the naysayers by forcing the decisive tilt, but they obviously won't be satisfied unless they can win Monday's game and accomplish something that hasn't been done in more than 80 years in the process.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are trying to avoid suffering a full-fledged and utterly embarrassing collapse of historic proportions, with one more chance to win a fourth game and their first-ever championship.
Here's a look at some noteworthy numerical nuggets heading into the highly anticipated showdown in Sunrise:
Game 7 lore
10: Game 7s in NHL playoffs history, including Monday night's affair, prior to which a team held a 3-0 series lead.
3: Times a team has now rallied from a 3-0 series deficit in the Cup Final. Both other times took place during World War II. In 1945, The Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 3-0 lead to the Detroit Red Wings but then won Game 7.
1942: The only time a team overcame a 3-0 series deficit to win the Cup. The Maple Leafs did it against the Red Wings three years before they prevented Detroit from returning the favor. The Oilers could be the first team in 82 years to pull it off and only the second team ever.
3: Other times a team has overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win a playoff round of any kind. The 1975 New York Islanders stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2010 postseason, and the Los Angeles Kings sent the San Jose Sharks packing in the first round a decade ago, all in that manner.
2019: The last time there was a Game 7 in the Cup Final, when the St. Louis Blues prevailed over the Bruins.
17: Previous Game 7s in the championship round.
12-5: The win-loss record for home teams in those games.
0-3: How home teams have fared in the last three. The Bruins lost in their own arena five years ago, but they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in hostile territory in 2011. Two years earlier, the Penguins vanquished the Red Wings in Motown.
198: Game 7s in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the forthcoming contest. The league introduced the seven-game format in 1939.
4: Game 7s in the 2023-24 playoffs, including Monday's Cup Final clash. The Oilers eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in seven in Round 2 after a pair of instances in Round 1. The Dallas Stars did so to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Bruins knocked out the Maple Leafs in the opening stage after going the distance.
2: Game 7s in the Cup Final that went to overtime, with the Red Wings having won both on home ice. Pete Babando lifted Detroit over the New York Rangers in the second extra frame in 1950. Four years later, Tony Leswick was the hero for the Wings against the Montreal Canadiens in the first overtime.
Panthers' and Oilers' ties to Game 7
3: Game 7s the Panthers played in before Monday. They beat the Penguins 3-1 to win the Eastern Conference Final in 1996, lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime of the first round in 2012, and upset a historically dominant Bruins squad with a 4-3 overtime victory in the first round last year.
12: Game 7s the Oilers played in before Monday. They've won eight of them, and their .667 win percentage is tied with the Panthers and Sharks for fourth in NHL history.
2-0: The Oilers' record in overtime of Game 7. They defeated the Stars in an extra frame in the first round in 1997. Six years earlier, Edmonton took care of the rival Calgary Flames in overtime of their division semifinal series.
3: Teams that won their first Stanley Cup championship with a victory in Game 7. The Panthers can join the Blues (2019), Carolina Hurricanes (2006), and Tampa Bay Lightning (2004).
2: Cup Final Game 7s the Oilers have played in before Monday. The Hurricanes bested Edmonton in that 2006 final, but the Oilers topped the Flyers in 1987.
2013: The last time a team from the NHL, NBA, or MLB based in the Miami area played in a Game 7 in the championship round. The NBA's Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs that year. The only previous time it's happened was in 1997, when MLB's Marlins triumphed over Cleveland in 1997.
10: Game 7s that Oilers forward Corey Perry has played in. He's 5-5 with four goals and two assists in those contests. Perry is one of seven active players who've played in at least 10 of them.
5: Game 7s that Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko has played in. Tarasenko leads the Florida roster in that regard, and he's the only player on either team who's played in a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Russian helped the Blues prevail over the Bruins in 2019 with an assist in that contest.
2: Active NHLers who've notched a hat trick in a Game 7. Oilers forward Mattias Janmark scored thrice for the Golden Knights against the Minnesota Wild in the first round in 2021. Colorado Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta is the other player, having accomplished the feat with the Stars against his current team in the second round in 2020.
35: Sergei Bobrovsky can join Johnny Bower, Gump Worsley, Patrick Roy, and Tim Thomas as the only goaltenders to win a Cup Final Game 7 at that age or older.
4-0: Panthers head coach Paul Maurice's record in Game 7s. He can join Stars bench boss Peter DeBoer as the only head coaches in NHL history to win their first five. DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s.
1994: The last and only other time opposing 50-goal scorers from the season in question faced off in a Game 7 of the Cup Final. Pavel Bure of the Canucks battled Adam Graves of the Rangers in that series. This time, it's Sam Reinhart and Zach Hyman.
(Figures provided by the NHL)