#NHLPeachy @NHL NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 23, 2024
* For the first time in five years the Stanley Cup Final will require a winner-take-all Game 7 when the Oilers visit the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC). Click here for more Game 7 notes from #NHLStats.
* Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, who is from Edmonton, is undefeated in Games 4-7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (10-0) and looks to add one more victory, and a Stanley Cup, to that total on Monday.
* Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko is the only member of either team to appear in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final.
* At the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, the Sharks will have the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history, while the Canadiens enter with a top-five selection for the third consecutive year.
STANLEY CUP FINAL REQUIRES GAME 7 FOR FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS
For the first time since the Blues clinched the Stanley Cup on the road in Game 7 against the Bruins in 2019, a team will need to survive the pressure cooker that is a winner-take-all contest with the Stanley Cup on the line when the Panthers host the Oilers on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC). Click here for more from #NHLStats heading into Game 7.
* One of the Oilers or Panthers will achieve a rare feat by the time the dust settles on Monday’s Game 7: Edmonton can become the second team in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in the Final to win the Stanley Cup (TOR in 1942 vs. DET), while Florida can become the second team in NHL history to win a Game 7 in the Final after holding a 3-0 series lead (TOR in 1945 vs. DET).
* Monday's contest will be the 198th Game 7 in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, fourth in 2024 (EDM def. VAN in R2; DAL def. VGK in R1; and BOS def. TOR in R1) and 18th all-time in the Stanley Cup Final (last: STL def. BOS in 2019). This marks the third time in four years that the Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature at least four Game 7s.
* While the Panthers and Oilers have not required extra time yet in the series, each of the previous five Stanley Cup Final series (since 2019) have required at least one overtime game. Only two Stanley Cup Final Game 7s have gone to overtime, both won by Detroit at home: in 1950, when Pete Babando scored at 8:31 of double-overtime to lift the Red Wings over the Rangers, and 1954, when Tony Leswick scored at 4:29 of the extra session to power Detroit past Montreal.
HOMETOWN HERO SKINNER SHINING AT THE RIGHT TIME
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (Edmonton, Alta.), one of three Alberta-born players to hit the ice for Edmonton in the Final alongside Brett Kulak (Edmonton, Alta.) and Dylan Holloway (Calgary, Alta.), has been instrumental in backstopping his team from a 3-0 series deficit to one win away from the Stanley Cup.
* Skinner, who after the Game 3 loss said: “I’m not too sure what the stats are coming back on it, but if anyone can do it, it’s the Oil” has dramatically improved his play. Since that quote, Skinner is 3-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .942 save percentage (Games 1-3: 3.13 GAA & .868 SV%).
* Should Skinner backstop the Oilers to victory in Game 7, he would become the fourth goaltender to earn 20 career playoff wins with the franchise, following a trio of Stanley Cup champions in Grant Fuhr (74), Bill Ranford (25) and Andy Moog (23).
TARASENKO ONLY PLAYER WITH GAME 7 FINAL EXPERIENCE
Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko is the only player on either team who has appeared in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final. Tarasenko was an alternate captain for the 2019 Blues in the most recent seventh-and-deciding game in the Final, notching an assist in St. Louis’ 4-1 win over the Bruins. Tarasenko leads all Panthers skaters in overall Game 7 appearances (5 GP), boasting a 4-1 record in those contests.
* On the Edmonton side, Corey Perry leads all skaters in this series in total Game 7 appearances (10), wins (5-5) and points (4-2—6). Also notable for the Oilers is Evander Kane, who has not suited up since Game 2 but is 4-0 in four career Game 7s.
2024 NHL DRAFT: PICK UNFAMILIAR FOR SHARKS, OPPOSITE FOR CANADIENS
The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft is less than a week away with Round 1 from Sphere in Las Vegas slated for Friday, June 28 (7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). Two teams with a top-five pick, the Sharks (1st overall) and Canadiens (5th overall) find themselves in opposite positions when it comes to familiarity with selecting in their current slot. Click here for more #NHLStats ahead of the Draft.
* San Jose will be the first team to step to the podium on Friday as a result of winning the No. 1 pick at the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery on May 7. It will mark the first time the Sharks have held the first overall pick – they have selected second overall three times: 1991 (Pat Falloon), 1996 (Andrei Zyuzin) and 1997 (Patrick Marleau). Marleau went on to become the most productive draft pick in franchise history holding franchise records for goals (522) and points (1,111). Marleau also owns the NHL’s all-time games played record (1,779) which includes 1,607 appearances in a Sharks uniform.
* The Canadiens will select fifth overall for the second consecutive year after taking David Reinbacher No. 5 in 2023. Montreal has had success in the fifth slot, where they selected all-time franchise wins leader and multiple-time NHL Awards winner Carey Price in 2005. The Canadiens are the first team to hold a top-five selection in three consecutive years since the Oilers from 2015-17, a haul that included two players now starring in the Stanley Cup Final: Connor McDavid (No. 1 in 2016) and Leon Draisaitl (No. 3 in 2015).
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