Connor McDavid didn’t even leave the losing team’s dressing room to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy
Regina’s streets were quieter than normal Monday evening, but the bars were busier.
It happened during this season’s final rendition of Hockey Night in Canada, played in Sunrise, Fla., as it was being watched by millions of TV viewers throughout this country. So under the guise of research it was worthwhile to drop into a local watering hole to see how Reginans enjoyed Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final series.
Big surprise: They didn’t enjoy it very much.
Edmonton was the seventh Canadian team to make the final series since then. And lose.
Florida won the first three games before Edmonton rebounded with three straight victories to force Monday’s decisive contest. Panthers fans feared the biggest collapse in hockey history. Oilers fans awaited the historical comeback.
Watching Florida beat Edmonton 2-1, it was evident the Oilers had given all they had just getting to Game 7. They had nothing left for the finale.
“We gave it everything,” said Zach Hyman, who led all postseason scorers with 16 goals, as the Oilers red-eyed and dutifully met reporters after the game.
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, who had been a stalwart after being hooked and rested earlier in the postseason, surrendered the game-winning goal to Sam Reinhart late in the second period. Despite numerous chances before and after, Edmonton couldn’t get a goal from stars McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or the lesser-lights who had kept them in the series.
Although McDavid ultimately won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs, his team didn’t win the championship.
It’s silly for the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to vote for someone on the losing team. McDavid didn’t get a point in Edmonton’s final two games! The Oilers lost! Give the Conn Smythe it to Bobrovsky! McDavid didn’t even leave the losing team’s dressing room to accept the award.
Inside Bonzzini’s Brew Pub it was just like hundreds or thousands of places across Canada, full of patrons wearing blue/orange jerseys and moaning whenever the Oilers missed a scoring opportunity.
They yelled, “Shoot! Shoot!” when Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard held onto the puck too long. Someone screamed, “Omigod!” twice during the third period, once when McDavid lost the puck during a goalmouth scramble and once when his deflection ricocheted past an open net. They also loudly cheered a tremendous save by Skinner and sighed when the game ended.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman appeared — amid traditional booing — to present the Stanley Cup for the “first time” to a captain from Finland and handed the trophy to Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, a superstar whose two-way brilliance is now well-known in Canada.
Even for true-blue Oilers fans it would be difficult to not appreciate Maurice, a loquacious and thoughtful interview whose profane tantrums are also memorable. In 26 seasons as a coach, this was his fourth trip to the final and first victory.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch was humble and appreciative of his players, exactly the reaction expected from a Saskatchewanian. Knoblauch, who is from nearby Imperial, took over the Oilers early this season and led them within one game of the NHL championship. There’s always someone worth cheering for.