Edmonton is a sea of Orange and Blue during the Stanley Cup final in support of the Oilers, but pockets of fans, including some from Alberta, are rooting for the Florida Panthers.
Gustav Forsling, Sam Reinhart and Aleksander BarkovIt's hard to miss the sea of Orange and Blue at Rogers Place during the NHL playoffs, but there are still Florida Panthers fans in Edmonton right now on the edge of a Stanley Cup celebration.
No matter the series lead or the score, the support for the Edmonton Oilers at home is one of the more striking things during this Cup final. That said, Game 3 saw more than a few fans wearing Panthers jerseys or hats among the Oilers' faithful, which will be a definite sight again in Game 4, with the Panthers leading 3-0. And while some made the trip up from the United States, some Albertans are rooting for the Panthers, whether they've always been fans or just hoping Edmonton loses.
Ryley Bates is one of those cheering for the Panthers. He's an Edmonton native whose support jumped when the ability to watch more out-of-market games became possible.
"My first ever Oilers game was Oilers-Panthers, and I've always liked both teams ever since then," Bates said. "But until you were able to get the NHL Network or Sportsnet, you weren't able to watch Panther games. But as soon as they made that available in Canada, I was all Panthers all the time."
For his allegiance, he's had to endure a bit of heckling from local fans, but it's been mixed with Oiler fans having a drink with Bates and having fun with him at games.
"Both teams have been at the bottom of the league for forever so I think both teams have respect, and both have now been at the top. There's been a couple of guys who've been buying me drinks and stuff at the game; it's been good. I love it."
While every year, there's the idea that fans from other Canadian markets should band together to support the final Canadian team standing, many reject that sentiment, especially Calgary Flames fans.
One of those Flames fans cheering for the Panthers in team gear at Game 3 was Rod Phillips (not the legendary Oilers play-by-play man).
Although he's siding with Florida, he didn't see Edmonton's offense drying up like it has and thought the series would have been returning to Edmonton much closer than it is now.
"I'm shocked at the lack of goal-scoring from the Oilers," said Phillips. "First off, I picked Edmonton to win Game 2 in Florida after losing, and they've scored three goals in two-and-a-half games. Unbelievable, very, very shocking. Sort of disappointing for Alberta."
Evan Rodrigues, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett have led Florida's offense, but Matthew Tkachuk has been quiet in this series on the scoresheet. Phillips feels he still has far more to give before things are said and done.
"I'll tell you one thing: we didn't see the best out of Matthew Tkachuk yet, a 100-point man if he keeps going, look out."
Fans cheering for the Panthers may be outnumbered by quite a bit, but they're letting it be known in Alberta's capital who they want to see hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. And they have a shot at seeing it happen as soon as Saturday night.