Down and stressed after early losses, Oilers fans getting their confidence back
When your team is already down three games in the Stanley Cup final series and a single loss would mean the dream of a championship victory parade is over, it's understandable that anxiety for Edmonton Oilers fans is through the roof.
"It's up here! I'm telling you it is so high!" said Ethan Newman, 17, who was among a large and exuberant crowd watching on a big screen outside Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton as the Oilers took an early lead against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, eventually winning the game 5-3.
"It's just crazy, because no one's come back and won four in a row since '42. I don't know, I'm quite nervous but I never give up."
The Oilers are looking to become the first team since the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942 to come back from a three-nothing deficit to win the Stanley Cup.
It seemed impossible and remains daunting, but after thrashing the Panthers Saturday night 8-1 in Game 4 and their win Tuesday, Edmonton fans are hopeful their team can win two more.
"I broke down crying. I'm not going to lie, I broke down crying," Austin Zaplotinski, 16, said about the Oilers' third loss in a row last week.
As he spoke on Tuesday, the Oilers were leading 4-2.
"I think the Oilers could do it. They have the best player in the world -- the two best players in the world. I know that they can do it," he said.
Shania Sandoval, who admitted she's only been an Oilers fan since the start of this year's playoffs, said she was "a little down" after the team's first three losses in the series. She also admitted she's been "stress eating."
But she said she was a bit more confident following the team's surprising comeback in game 4 on Saturday.
"Still two more games," she said as the clock ticked down towards Tuesday's win. "The job's not finished. I know we can do it!"
Mary Loewen, who was dressed as the Stanley Cup at Tuesday's watch party, said she hasn't been anxious at all.
Loewen said she's been a fan since 1984 when the Oilers won their first of five Stanley Cups, and she said her confidence is strong because she has the same feeling now as she did then.
"I'm so confident in my boys -- the Oilers. We're gonna do it," she said.
Other fans, though, like 18-year-old Sarah Gauvin, likely won't relax until the Oilers win Game 7 or get knocked out.
Gauvin, who plays hockey herself and is a Professional Women's Hockey League fan, was worried after the Oilers lost three in a row at the start of the series.
"Oh my God, I'm barely sleeping, barely eating. I've been so nervous after Game three," she said during the last minutes of Tuesday's win.
"It's scary but I think we're going to push through. I think we've got it."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump's Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults
Donald Trump took the stage Sunday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden to deliver his campaign's closing argument with the election nine days away after several of his allies used crude and racist insults toward U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and other critics of the former president.
B.C. election results: Mail-in ballots heavily favour NDP, only absentee ballots left to count
The majority of mail-in ballots tallied this weekend for the final count in B.C.’s nail-bitingly close 2024 provincial election went to the NDP, increasing the party’s chances of clinching a third term.
Here's when you need to change your clock back
Millions of Canadians will notice their clocks turn back by one hour on Nov. 3, marking the end of daylight saving time this year.
New polls show Sask. NDP leading over Sask. Party ahead of election day
A pair of new pre-election polls indicate that the Saskatchewan NDP has a slight lead ahead of election day.
17-year-old charged for driving 188 km/h on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
A 17-year-old Ottawa driver was caught speeding nearly 90 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417.
Hollywood star Victor Garber gets emotional after surprise meeting with his former teacher in London, Ont.
Victor Garber got teary-eyed when he walked into a brunch in his honour Sunday in London, Ont.
Another bumpy week ahead as Trudeau faces deadlines from Liberal MPs, Bloc
Another week, another raft of imminent challenges to Justin Trudeau's leadership of both the country and the Liberal Party.
He lost a finger and survived a kidnapping. Then, this climber took on a 9,000-foot 'death-trap'
With jaw-dropping big wall ascents and a life packed with adrenaline and adventure, climber Tommy Caldwell has had a career worthy of – and captured by – a feature film.
How to make sure your used clothes go to the right place – and not to organized crime
Giving away used clothes for a second life feels like an act of charity – and it often is. But it’s become more complicated. A W5 investigation has discovered allegations that organized crime players are muscling in on charities to access their donation bins.