The numbers greatly favor whoever wins the first game of a Stanley Cup Final.
EDMONTON -- It's finally here.
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The moment that Edmonton Oilers' fans have been hoping for since the arrival of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Game one of the Stanley Cup Final. Soak it all up, Oilers fans. It's nothing but maximum stress and excitement from here on out.
McDavid and Draisaitl are entering their first final having learned some hard lessons over the years. "Every season you don't win the Stanley Cup, you're going home trying to dig in more - wanting more," Draisaitl told the media in Florida yesterday.
"Last year was very disappointing."
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Everyone could tell how disappointed both McDavid and Draisaitl were at their exit interviews yesterday. Both players took stock and said that the coming 2023-24 season was "Cup or bust."
That will get put to the test over the next few weeks.
The most pivotal game of this Cup Final is tonight. The team that has won Game one of the Cup Final has won the Stanley Cup 76.2% of the time. That number is even higher when it's the home team (83.6%).
The Oilers began the year in one of the biggest holes that a Stanley Cup Finalist ever has. A 2-9-1 start is not a recipe for success. But the weight of that disappointment brought the group together, and taught them about the resilience that they possesses.
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In Stuart Skinner's own words, "Going through what we had to go through, I think that's a massive reason why we are where we are. Going through that you really create a strong friendship - an incredible bond - going through something we had to overcome."
The time has come to see if this team is "Cup" or "Bust."
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