(FLM) — The Florida Panthers can raise their first Stanley Cup in team history with a win against the host Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 on Saturday night.
The Panthers didn’t come close in their previous two Stanley Cup final appearances, getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights last season.
Florida’s now in position to post the first finals sweep since the Detroit Red Wings ran over the Washington Capitals in 1998.
“It’s there for us, but you don’t think about it,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said after his team’s 4-3 win in Game 3 on Thursday night. “You can’t think about it. All we have to do is just take, like, one moment at a time. …. (Friday), we need to recover and get ready for the game. That’s about it. We never think too much ahead.”
In the Edmonton dressing room, the Oilers are trying to figure out how they’ve gone from being in position to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993 to the first Canadian team trying to avoid getting swept.