c9777666
Registered User
- Aug 31, 2016
- 19,892
- 5,875
It was a lot of the veterans from the 80s (Messier, Lowe, Kurri), but it wasn't basically a team of nothing but old guys (Ranford was 23, and old Lowe/Kurri were over 30, Simpson/Murphy/Graves gave EDM some young legs behind the proven playoff warriors).
A regular season record of 38-28-14 didn't exactly scream WATCH OUT FOR EDMONTON and Ranford's lack of playoff experience was hard to ignore, but their Cup experience and veterans could not be discounted.
Which me wonder how the heck they even fell behind 3-1 to Winnipeg in the first place? Like, through 4 games they seemed like an aging team near the end of their ropes (the one game they won went to OT) and even game 5 they fell behind by 2 goals.
And then as if flipping a switch, the veterans drank from the fountain of youth and suddenly a seemingly aging team became an experienced team that had knew how to win.
They did dodge a bullet by getting to play the Kings instead of Calgary, but Chicago/Boston weren't exactly weak teams. (Heck, CHI led 2-1 before Messier changed the series).
And they admittedly caught a break with Glen Wesley missing an open net in game 1 of the marathon game (plus, in a 3OT game, you might have expected the less proven Ranford to falter- not to mention they had blown a 2-0 3rd period lead).
Still, this was the Edmonton Oilers, who had an impossible to ignore playoff mystique/aura:
Basically from 1982-1990, it took 2 miracle Kings comeback (1 in a game, 1 in a series) and an all-time freak play (the Steve Smith own goal) to keep the Oilers out of the Cup Finals.
How good was the last of their 5 Cups? Tough to compare them to the other 4 winners, but in general, how good was this last hurrah of a dynasty?
A regular season record of 38-28-14 didn't exactly scream WATCH OUT FOR EDMONTON and Ranford's lack of playoff experience was hard to ignore, but their Cup experience and veterans could not be discounted.
Which me wonder how the heck they even fell behind 3-1 to Winnipeg in the first place? Like, through 4 games they seemed like an aging team near the end of their ropes (the one game they won went to OT) and even game 5 they fell behind by 2 goals.
And then as if flipping a switch, the veterans drank from the fountain of youth and suddenly a seemingly aging team became an experienced team that had knew how to win.
They did dodge a bullet by getting to play the Kings instead of Calgary, but Chicago/Boston weren't exactly weak teams. (Heck, CHI led 2-1 before Messier changed the series).
And they admittedly caught a break with Glen Wesley missing an open net in game 1 of the marathon game (plus, in a 3OT game, you might have expected the less proven Ranford to falter- not to mention they had blown a 2-0 3rd period lead).
Still, this was the Edmonton Oilers, who had an impossible to ignore playoff mystique/aura:
Basically from 1982-1990, it took 2 miracle Kings comeback (1 in a game, 1 in a series) and an all-time freak play (the Steve Smith own goal) to keep the Oilers out of the Cup Finals.
How good was the last of their 5 Cups? Tough to compare them to the other 4 winners, but in general, how good was this last hurrah of a dynasty?