If the Oilers come back to win this thing on Monday night, it'll only be the second time in NHL history a team came back from being down 3-0 in a Stanley Cup Final. Only the 1942 Leafs have accomplished this so far, so if the Oilers win that'll make it literally the comeback of the century (unless someone else can do it). The Oilers, as they've been doing all season, have proven the doubters wrong in these Stanley Cup Final games.
Which seems fitting considering how their season has gone, the theme of this 2023-24 campaign for the Oilers is coming back from adversity. They started out winning a mere two of their first 13 games, with an overtime loss for good measure. Then they went on a 16-game winning streak, one short of tying the NHL record held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Oilers then lost their next three games but followed this with another winning streak, this time eight games. They stopped being so bipolar at that point and their regular season went more or less to plan the rest of the way. They finished the regular season at second place in the division, but let's just be honest - at this point do you care that they didn't win the division? I'm guessing the answer is no, because regular season achievements are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. What each team and every player wants is to play for the Stanley Cup.
Then the playoffs started, and everyone expected the Oilers to beat the LA Kings in the first round, which they did. In large part this was thanks to contributions from the McDrai duo as well as the Oilers' power play. However, also because of a predictable Kings defensive structure which they already knew how to beat, and a lack of any goaltending that would actually give the Kings a chance in the series. (They would go on to trade their problem child in Pierre Luc Dubois to Washington for the oft-injured Darcy Kuemper, who when healthy is a pretty solid choice between the pipes, but.....he's often not healthy.)
Next, the Oilers drew the Vancouver Canucks in round two, a series everyone expected them to lose. It may have taken them seven games but they did in fact beat the wet-behind-the-playoff-ears Canucks, a team that drew an easy opponent in round one with the Nashville Predators. Predictably since this was the first time they were making the playoffs in three seasons, once the Canucks came up against a better team in the Oilers, they were ultimately no match.
Then the Oilers drew the Dallas Stars in round three, a series that once again everyone expected them to lose. However, not only did they prove them wrong, but Stuart Skinner outduelled one of the best goalies in the league in Jake Oettinger in the process.