Waking Up With The Edmonton Oilers- Chance To Clinch Berth To Stanley Cup Finals

In what is the most important game in Rogers Place history the Oilers have a chance to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals if they beat the Dallas Stars tonight. In the history of Rogers Place the Oilers have only made it to the Conference Finals once. In those finals, they were swept 4 in a row by the Colorado Avalanche, so they never had the chance to advance, but tonight they do.

So far this series the Edmonton Oilers have stood a chance in all 5 games. In game 1 the Oilers won in double overtime in a game where both teams were still feeling each other out. In game 2 the game was tied heading into the third period where the Stars got the tie-breaking goal and then added one more to win by 2. In game 3 the Oilers had a 2-goal lead and played a bad 5 minutes where the Stars scored 3 goals to take over momentum and eventually ended up winning. Game 4 was the opposite of game 3 the Oilers came back from a 2 goal lead to win the game.

Game 5 was the best game the Oilers have played all series they controlled the play and the momentum all game. This is impressive because the game was in Dallas, so the Oilers had to overcome the crowd and last change to put forward their best effort. If the Oilers play like that again they will be moving on to the Cup final.

The Oilers are in a good spot tonight as they face the potential to move forward in their playoffs. The Oilers have arguably the best and loudest fans in the NHL. The Stars players will have trouble overcoming the momentum that the crowd can supply this Oilers team. If the Oilers score first this crowd will only continue to push the Oilers. If the Stars want to win tonight, they will need to score first to take the crowd out of it.

A silent home crowd is almost as effective a loud crowd, but a silent crowd hurts the home team. It raises the stress and anxiety in the players which can cause them to play worse. The loud home crowd has the same effect but on the road ream. An early goal for the Oilers would only add doubt into the minds of the Stars players.

It is going to be a long day for most Edmonton Oilers fans as they wait for the puck drop tonight. In a game where the first goal is so important I expect both teams to come out hard and push for the first goal and hopefully by tomorrow, I am writing about the Oilers in the Cup Final.