As we get ready for the 2024 NHL playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers unfortunately are the last team to play their first game. But in Oil Country, the fans are itching for their playoff fix.
In an effort to tide you over until Monday’s game, here are some of the best Oilers playoff moments that you can re-live to get you even more pumped for this post season.
1997 Playoffs, Oilers versus Stars Round 1, Game 7: Curtis Joseph and Todd Marchand
This is a two for one moment, both with respect to the fact that it includes two amazing plays, but also because of the situation surrounding it.
Following the Oilers dynasty, the team became essentially a farm team for the NHL, and had missed the playoffs for four straight seasons. The previous season, owner Peter Pocklington threatened to move the team unless they were able to sell 13,000 season tickets, which was achieved one day before Pocklington’s deadline. There were still issues, though, with the team officially being put up for sale after the 1997 playoffs.
They finally made it back to the playoffs, with their reward being a face-off against the third best team in the league, the Dallas Stars.
The Oilers managed to push the series to overtime in Game 7. It looked like that would be as far as it would go though, as Joe Nieuwendyk had a wide open net to end the series. But then Curtis Joseph made what could arguably be the biggest save in franchise history.
Clearly that inspired the team, as the very next play, Todd Marchant used his signature speed to blow by the Dallas defence and score the series winner, a moment that will live on in Oilers history forever.
2006 Playoffs, Oilers versus Hurricanes, Round 4, Game 5: Fernando Pisani
With the Oilers down 3–1 in the Stanley Cup Finals, Steve Staios took a penalty early in overtime, looking like it would be the end of the Oilers season.
But Fernando Pisani said not today.
The incredible post season for Pisani continued, where he intercepted a Carolina Hurricanes pass and scored on a shorthanded breakaway, the first every shorthanded overtime goal in Oilers history.
And while everyone in Edmonton and on the team was certainly ecstatic about the goal, I don’t think anyone was as happy about the goal as Steve Staios.
2022 Playoffs, Oilers versus Flames, Round 2, Game 5: Connor McDavid
Arguably the biggest goal of Connor McDavid’s career came two post seasons ago, when the Battle of Alberta was reignited in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.
It was also arguably the most intense and best playoff series in recent memory. The teams combined for 39 goals and 131 penalty minutes in five games and Leon Draisaitl set the NHL record for most assists in a playoff series.
After losing 9–6 an outrageous roller coaster of a Game 1, the Oilers won three straight and were on the cusp of sending the Calgary Flames home.
Game 5 itself was a wild one, with seven goals scored in the second period, including four goals being scored in just 71 seconds, another NHL record.
It looked like the Flames scored the go-ahead goal with six minutes left in the game, but it was deemed that Blake Coleman kicked the puck in the net. It was a controversial call where most will argue it go either way, unless you are an Oilers fan, in which case you think it was definitely a kick, or a Flames fan in which case you are saying “there’s no way it was a kick, I mean, he was trying to stop by putting his foot in the complete opposite direction than you would if you were trying to stop, HOW CAN THAT BE A KICK?!” (*Editor’s note: Faiz is an Oilers fan and his sarcastic tone and obvious misrepresentation about what the Flames fan is saying is not endorsed by the Oil Rig’s parent company, the Win Column Sports and Entertainment Network*)
Therefore, the game headed to OT, where McDavid became even more of an Oilers legend, and apparently straight up broke the Flames, by scoring the series winner.
2006 Playoffs, Oilers versus Sharks, Round 2, Game 3: Dwayne Roloson
After dropping the first two games in Round 2 to the San Jose Sharks, it looked like the Oilers underdog story from beating the President’s Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings was going to come to an early end.
The Oilers managed to get the game into overtime, where the first OT period settled nothing. More than halfway through the second OT period, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo were sprung for a two-on-one, which that season was almost guaranteed to be a goal.
Dwayne Roloson had his own “Cujo” moment though, robbing Cheechoo with the glove. The still photo of Roli making the save is legendary in its own right, with the goalie having his eyes closed, meaning we can only assume he channeled the Force a la Luke Skywalker in a New Hope.
1988 Playoffs, Oilers versus Bruins, Round 4, Game 5: Wayne Gretzky
Obviously there has to be some moment from the dynasty period on this list. You have five Stanley Cups to choose from, but I’m going to go with a moment from the Oilers fourth one, and one that had nothing to do with the game itself.
That’s because this was the one where Gretzky started a new tradition that continues to this day: the team photo with the Stanley Cup.
It’s hard to imagine a time where there was no team photo, especially given that this has been carrying on for 35 years now, but apparently it just wasn’t a thing before. The Great One delivers yet again.
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
