Legendary goalie Grant Fuhr, a five-time Stanley Cup winner with the Oilers, wants Edmonton to dig deep and extend the series against the Panthers.
Time hasn’t changed Fuhr’s mind.
Speaking from Palm Desert, California, Fuhr reaffirmed his pick: “Connor McDavid is still the toughest player to face. His skating and puck-handling skills create a nightmare for any goaltender.”
Look at his assist to Perry in Game 5! Pure speed, puck control, and amazing hands. If McDavid’s hands can stay on par with his skating, he’s an unstoppable force. He can completely embarrass defenders.
While a triumphant Grant Fuhr celebrated with the Stanley Cup in the Oilers’ dressing room after their 1985 championship, Connor McDavid, a contender for today’s greatest player, has carried the weight of his team in the recent Stanley Cup Finals.
Despite facing elimination twice, the Oilers’ captain has powered the team back into contention with consecutive four-point performances. Edmonton will host a pivotal Game 6 on Friday night after overcoming a 3–0 series deficit.
The Stanley Cup has racked up serious air miles this series, traveling between Florida and Edmonton for potential presentations. Could all that exposure to airport security scanners be causing a strange glow?
Game 7, if necessary, would be played in Sunrise, Florida, on June 24.
Fueled by the Oilers’ impressive run, all of Canada hopes to end a 31-year Stanley Cup drought. The Montreal Canadiens, champions in 1993, were the last team from Canada to hoist the Cup.
Canada’s Stanley Cup drought continues. Since the Oilers’ loss in 2006, six Canadian teams have reached the Finals, but all fell short, with four even losing in a heartbreaking Game 7.
Down 3–0 to the Panthers, the Oilers seemed on the brink of defeat. Fuhr shared this concern with many others.
“I had a strong feeling they’d win at least one game at home in Edmonton,” he said. “And if they got the chance to return to Florida, I figured they could extend the series and make it a real battle. That seems to be exactly how it’s playing out!”
The momentum might have shifted to Edmonton. They could be in a good position to win with the home crowd behind them. They’re likely taking it one period at a time, focusing on winning each twenty minutes, which can be a successful strategy.
The Panthers have a golden opportunity to clinch the Cup. However, history shows that the final hurdle, closing out a series, is the most challenging victory in sports. The excitement of the prize can sometimes distract a team from the focus needed to secure it.
Grant Fuhr makes a glove save during Game 3 of the 1985 Campbell Conference Final against the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium.
Fuhr explained the mentality shift in hockey. “When you’re desperate, with no room for error, you play freely,” he said. “But a big lead can make you play safe, afraid of messing up.
Fuhr has been up to his eyebrows in hockey, watching his former team stickhandle through their 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games while working as a broadcast analyst for the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
On Tuesday, the Firebirds defeated the Hershey Bears 6–2 in Game 3 of the best-of-7 Calder Cup Final.
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The Coachella Valley Firebirds are on the cusp of the championship, needing just two wins with home-ice advantage for Games 4 and 5. This conveniently coincides with Game 6 of the Oilers-Panthers series.
Grant Fuhr presents the Honored Members plaque to Willie O’Ree (right) at the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto.
“It’s worked out well,” Fuhr said of the schedule. “I’ve been watching hockey every night. And I snuck up to Los Angeles to see the Oilers in Game 3 of the first round (a 6–1 Oilers victory against the Kings).”
Goaltending dominated the headlines early, with Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky outperforming Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner in the first three games. Bobrovsky was even considered the frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy at that point.
Bobrovsky shut out the Oilers 3–0 in Game 1, making 32 saves, was beaten just once on 19 shots in a 4–1 Game 2 win, then stopped 32 more in the Panthers’ 4–3 Game 3 victory.
McDavid’s dominant performances in Games 4 and 5, with a goal and three assists in the blowout win and two goals and two assists in the close victory, have cemented him as the frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Leading the playoffs in both points (42) and assists (34), he’s become the clear favorite regardless of the series outcome.
Goalie Grant Fuhr and teammate Wayne Gretzky pose for an early 1980s photo at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
While Bobrovsky was beaten five times on 16 shots in Game 4 and four times on 23 shots in Game 5, Skinner was standing on his head, making 61 saves on 65 shots in consecutive elimination games.
Outdueling a Vezina Trophy finalist, Skinner boasts a .902 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average through five Stanley Cup Finals games. Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina winner (2013, 2017) and a finalist again this year, manages a .896 save percentage and 2.97 goals-against average in the series.
In the past twogames, Skinner’s .938 was far superior to Bobrovsky’s .769.
“With Stuart, for some reason, his numbers are phenomenal in Games 4 through 7,” Fuhr said. “Games 1 through 3, not so much. Is it a matter of him bearing down? Clutch performances are his
specialty. In Game 4, with the score at 2–1, he came up with a game-changing save that shifted the momentum. He did it again on Tuesday night with a scoreless game on the board.
“Then look at Sergei. Edmonton wins Game 1 if he doesn’t stand on his head. The Oilers played well, but Sergei was the difference.”
Fuhr won the Stanley Cup with Edmonton in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990, Bill Ranford going the entire way in 1990 when a shoulder injury kept his fellow goalie out of the postseason.
Fuhr won 56 and lost 14 during his four Cup-bound seasons of action with a save percentage of .899 and goals against 2.87.
Grant Fuhr, a 2003 Hall of Famer, acknowledges you’re right about his 0–1 record in Stanley Cup Final Game 6s. He lost 3–2 on the road to the Philadelphia Flyers on May 28, 1987, but bounced back three nights later, allowing only one goal in a 3–1 series-clinching victory at home.
Grant Fuhr prepares for a face-off during a 1983 game at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
Even in this analytics-rich age, only one playoff statistic matters to Fuhr: wins versus losses.
“For a goalie, playoff hockey is simple,” he said. “It’s not about save percentage or goals-against average. It’s about making the right save at the right time to change the momentum of a game or win a game.
“That’s the fun part of being a goalie in the playoffs — you make a difference every game, good or bad. You’ll get the credit or the blame.”
Fuhr will be on his living room couch for Game 6, hoping his Oilers send this remarkable series back to Florida for a sudden-death finale.
Coachella Valley Firebirds broadcast host Gino LaMont (left) with analyst Grant Fuhr (right) and ice-level analyst Matt Tennyson.
Predicting a close game, Fuhr said both goaltenders will need to shine. He emphasized the importance of offensive stars like Barkov, McDavid, and Hyman in the pressure of the elimination round.
“The pressure is on the veterans to lead by example. We were lucky to have guys like ‘Mess’ and ‘Gretz’ who rose to the occasion when it mattered most.”
A robust goaltending duel in a game that wins the Stanley Cup, or pushes the series to the limit, is pretty much perfect for a goalie who’s won hockey’s most coveted prize five times.
“Once you get to the Stanley Cup Final, it’s going to be a goaltending show,” Fuhr said. “And I enjoy that immensely.”
Top photo: Grant Fuhr has fun with a group of young players during the Edmonton Oilers’ youth hockey program event at Rogers Place before the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 28, 2023.
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