Oilers guaranteed critical advantage if they advance to Stanley Cup Final
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Maple Leafs have officially been eliminated by the Florida Panthers, so if the Edmonton Oilers make it back to the Cup Final they will have home ice advantage.
The Oilers lost home ice advantage through the opening three rounds of this year's playoffs, mostly because of a cold streak to end the season with injuries - but the team hasn't let home and road splits affect them.
Edmonton Oilers will have home ice advantage if they advance again to Stanley Cup Final
The two remaining Eastern Conference teams, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, both finished with less than the Oilers' 101 points. If Edmonton were to get back to the Cup Final, they'd have home ice advantage in the series this time.
The Oilers haven't been phased by playing games on the road at all, but playing on home ice is a significant boost. Being home is comfortable for players, and the fans create a hostile environment for the opposition.
There's even an element of opposing teams seeming to hate the travel all the way to Edmonton. McDavid definitely leaned into that with the «drag them back to Alberta» comment last playoffs.
Oilers believe home ice advantage would have changed last year's outcome
Most importantly, the Oilers feel invincible on home ice. Broadcaster Jack Michaels revealed that the Oilers specifically felt like Game 7 of the Cup Final last year may have been different on home ice instead of in Florida.
I think it's on the back of everyone's mind that, had Game 7 been played in Edmonton's venue as opposed to South Florida, there may have been a different outcome.
- Jack Michaels
- Jack Michaels
If the Oilers can punch their ticket back to the Cup Final, they will have that critical home ice advantage for the biggest games of the season. They just need to execute on the opportunity ahead of them in Dallas.
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 730 ANSWERS Oilers guaranteed critical advantage if they advance to Stanley Cup Final Do you think the Oilers would've won the Stanley Cup last year if they had home ice? | ||
| Yes | 574 | 78.6 % |
| No | 156 | 21.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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