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For the first time in the 2025 postseason, the Edmonton Oilers are down to their last loss. It took 21 games this spring, but Connor McDavid and co. are officially on the verge of elimination heading into Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
But despite needing a win on the road to send the series back to Alberta — and keep McDavid's dreams of getting the last piece of hardware his career is missing alive — the Oilers captain is not letting the pressure of winning a championship weigh him down.
“That's a pretty heavy question,” McDavid told reporters on Monday when asked how much pressure he feels to win the Stanley Cup as the NHL's best player. “If you think about it that way, you'd probably be pretty crippled in how you prepare or how you play. It's a big game, everybody knows that. I know that. It's fun hockey, it's a fun series to be a part of.”
Although McDavid has yet to take over a game against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final rematch, No. 97 still leads the playoffs with 33 points in 21 games — tied with teammate and fellow Conn Smythe frontrunner Leon Draisaitl.
McDavid has managed seven points in the Finals and has won just about every award there is to win — except Lord Stanley. The 28-year-old won the Conn Smythe in a losing effort last June, and although he won't admit it, he and the Oilers are desperate to bring a Cup back to Edmonton for the first time since 1990.
“For whatever reason, our group doesn't like to make it easy on ourselves and we've put ourselves in another difficult spot, but it's our job to work our way out of it,” McDavid continued. “Everyone has another level, myself included.”
Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk speaks on desperation
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Although McDavid won't admit desperation, Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk was a little more forthcoming in his comments on Monday.
“[McDavid is] desperate to win a Cup, and so are we,” Tkachuk told reporters. “He's obviously a talent like nobody else in the league. It's so hard to shut him down – I don't think you can shut him down. You can just try to limit as much as you can.”
Although McDavid was adamant that the Oilers haven't reached their full potential over the course of the Stanley Cup Final, time is running out to find another level. Edmonton was able to find that gear last year, making a miraculous comeback in an 0-3 hole by winning three straight and forcing a Game 7 against the Panthers.
The Oilers faced elimination at Amerant Bank Arena in Game 5 in 2024, and won the contest 5-3. They faced elimination again in Game 7 a couple of nights later and lost 2-1, watching as Florida won its inaugural Stanley Cup.
This time around, Edmonton has no choice but to find a victory if the franchise hopes to capture a championship for the first time in 35 years.
Puck drops on what could be the final game of the 2024-25 National Hockey League season just past 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
