Seven former Anaheim Ducks will be part of something that hasn't happened since 1945.
After going down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, the Edmonton Oilers have forced a Game 7. This is the first time this has happened since 1945. How did they do it?
Big performances from captain Connor McDavid and goaltender Stuart Skinner led the way, although the contributions of Connor Brown, Warren Foegele and Zach Hyman can't be discounted either. Leon Draisaitl also appears to have woken up in the last few games after being kept off the scoresheet in the first three.
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Two former Ducks have also pitched in for the Oilers as they made their mad push to keep their season alive. Adam Henrique and Corey Perry have combined for four points in the last three games, with Perry and Henrique having the game-winning tallies in Games 5 and 6 respectively. This run comes after both players were non-factors to start the series.
On the Panthers' side, two former Ducks in Brandon Montour and Dmitry Kulikov have helped solidify their blue line. However, it's been a struggle offensively for Montour, who has just three points in 12 games since the start of the Eastern Conference Final. After being on the ice for a pair of shorthanded goals in the series, he has lost power play time to Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Kulikov has been quiet, but that's exactly what's needed from a bottom-pair defenseman. He has posted good underlying numbers throughout the series and has only been on the ice for three goals against.
Anthony Stolarz made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 4 after Sergei Bobrovsky was relieved following five goals against on 16 shots. However, he didn't fare much better than his Russian counterpart, allowing three goals on 19 shots. A situation in Game 7 where Stolarz relieves Bobrovsky again would signal the worst for Florida.
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Sam Carrick has appeared in just one of the six games for the Oilers and didn't play much either, relegated to just 7:31 of ice time. The re-insertion of Perry (following a healthy scratch in Game 2) and Derek Ryan into the lineup has kept Carrick in the press box, but there probably won't be any complaints from him if the Oilers can pull off the reverse sweep.
Carrick has fared better than Josh Mahura, who was a regular in the Panthers' lineup last season and appeared in all 82 regular season games and all 21 playoff games. But this season has been difficult for Mahura, who dealt with injuries and then found it difficult to crack the lineup regularly upon his return. He has not dressed for a single playoff game this season.
For every former Duck on these two teams aside from Perry, it would be the first time they would get their name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Winning the Cup is what every player strives for as an NHLer and it will come down to the very last game to determine who gets all the glory.