NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 22, 2024

June 22, 2024

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* For the first time in nearly 80 years, a team has rallied to force Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final after staring down a 3-0 series deficit as Connor McDavid and the Oilers set up a winner-take-all showdown against Aleksander Barkov and the Panthers on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, Sportsnet, CBC & TVA Sports).

* The Oilers pulled ahead 3-0 in Game 6 on goals by Warren Foegele, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman while Stuart Skinner shut the door with a 20-save effort as Edmonton improved to 5-0 when facing elimination this postseason.

* The 1,400th game of the season will decide the champions of 2023-24. It will mark the first Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final since 2019 and 18th overall to crown a Cup winner. The latest #NHLStats Pack has a detailed Game 7 rundown ahead of Monday’s showdown.

EDMONTON’S QUEST TO COMPLETE COMEBACK FOR THE AGES CONTINUES

After back-to-back four-point showings from Connor McDavid kept the Oilers alive in the Stanley Cup Final, his teammates helped set up a winner-take-all for the Cup as Warren Foegele (1-1—2), Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman spotted the club to a 3-0 lead in Game 6 and Stuart Skinner (20 saves) shut down a Panthers comeback attempt to force Game 7 on Monday in Sunrise.

* Foegelescored his third goal of the playoffs and second in the Final to extend his point streak to four games – the longest of his NHL career (regular season or playoffs). Foegele won an OHL championship with the Erie Otters in 2017 under head coach Kris Knoblauch.

* Henrique, who fell just short of helping the 2012 Devils force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in the Final, put the Oilers up 2-0 just 46 seconds into the middle frame and became the fourth player in franchise history with multiple winning goals in a Final (also Game 4), following Fernando Pisani (2 in 2006), Wayne Gretzky (2 in 1988) and Jari Kurri (2 in 1987). Henrique scored his third career winning goal during the championship series (also Game 4 of 2012 SCF).

* Hyman scored his League-leading 16th goal of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, surpassing Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009) and Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018) for the highest single-postseason total among active players – three shy of the NHL record. Hymanbecame the third active player to score 70 total goals in a season (regular season & playoffs), joining current teammate McDavid (72 in 2022-23) and former teammate Auston Matthews (70 in 2023-24).

* Skinner became the first goaltender in NHL history to record a point in a game while facing elimination in the Final. He became the ninth different netminder in League history to do so in a win to force a Game 7 and first since Igor Shesterkin achieved the feat in the 2022 First Round and Second Round (w/ NYR).

OILERS ACHIEVE FEAT LAST SEEN 79 YEARS AGO, AIM FOR ONE ACHIEVED ONLY ONCE

Eight days ago, the Oilers watched as the final buzzer sounded at Rogers Place and they became the 211th team in NHL history to fall behind 3-0 in any best-of-seven series. On Friday, they celebrated with their fans in Edmonton and became the 10th club all-time to rally back from that deficit to force a Game 7 – now among the 4.7% of clubs that have done so.

* The Oilers became the third team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after facing a 3-0 series deficit during the Final and 10th to do so in any playoff round. The nine previous clubs went 4-5 in the winner-take-all showdown.

* The Oilers have scored 18 goals when facing elimination in the Final, the second-highest such total in NHL history and one back of the record held by the 1942 Maple Leafs (19) – the only team in League history to successfully rally from three games down in the Final to win the Cup.

* Edmonton’s 26 goals when facing elimination this postseason are tied with the 2022 Rangers (26 in 6 GP), 2003 Wild (26 in 7 GP) and 1988 Capitals (26 in 5 GP) for the third most in League history behind the 2014 Kings (31 in 7 GP) and 1975 Islanders (28 in 9 GP).

* A Cup clinch Monday would make the Oilers the fourth team in NHL history to win at least six games while facing elimination in one postseason and the second of that group to claim a championship.

18TH GAME 7 IN STANLEY CUP FINAL HISTORY GOES MONDAY
For the first time since 2019 and 18th time overall, the Stanley Cup champion will be decided by a Game 7 as the Panthers will vie for their first title on home ice and the Oilers seek to complete their historic comeback. The Morning Skate and Live Updates will focus on Game 7 material all weekend, drawing from the latest #NHLStats Pack: Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.