Edmonton Oilers fans are once again living the dream, but hopes are high that this year comes without the nightmare ending.
The Oilers completed a backdoor sweep of the Dallas Stars on Thursday — losing the first game of the series then winning four in a row — to punch their second straight ticket to the Stanley Cup final.
Standing between the Oilers and glory are the Florida Panthers, who came out on top against the Oilers last year to win their first Cup in team history.
“I’m not nervous at all,” Oilers fan Nikolina Maljevic said outside the Oilers’ home arena of Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton Friday afternoon.
“I think they’re ready for this.”
Arena staff were seen bustling about to make sure Edmonton’s Ice District surrounding the rink was also ready for the rematch.
The fan park was getting a power wash while racks of T-shirts and other merchandise were being loaded into the official team store, though restocking efforts were interrupted by fans, including Maljevic, stocking up.
“I got some amazing stuff,” Maljevic said, showing off two jackets from the brand owned by the wife of Oilers captain Connor McDavid, as well as a team T-shirt she got for her father.
While Game 1 on Wednesday will surely see a sell-out crowd in Edmonton, thousands more will flood the area outside the rink, dubbed the “Moss Pit” out of respect for the late and beloved team equipment assistant Joey Moss.
Maljevic said her family’s game-day traditions mean she’ll be cheering on from home.
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“My family’s a bit superstitious,” she said, adding that no new faces are allowed inside so as not to throw off the winning formula of family watching together.
Maljevic isn’t the only Edmontonian whose home is intertwined with feelings and memories of the local team, but they all pale in comparison to the home of Warren Sillanpaa.
Sillanpaa’s downtown home is protected by a hand-painted fence depicting the jerseys of Oilers stars and fan favourites from McDavid to Corey Perry.
His yard also sports a row of Oilers flags, near life-sized aluminum cutouts of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that make it look like they’re hopping over the boards for a shift, and a hand-made oil derrick that he can light with a torch.
There’s also a sign that reads “Honk if you want the cup,” which Sillanpaa said doubles as an alarm clock.
“I got up the other morning and it’s like 6:45 a.m. I’m just laying up there, and the windows open, [and I’m wondering if I] should I get up or not,” he said.
“I just hear this guy walk by saying ‘Let’s go Oilers!’ and 15 minutes later someone honked, [so I was up].”
Like Maljevic, Sillanpaa said he too had nothing but confidence Edmonton will bring home the Cup.
“Everybody seems to be on the same page with everything,” he said.
The graphic designer’s home isn’t the only sign of Oilers life in Edmonton ahead of the Stanley Cup final.
Transit bus destination signs shift back and forth between displaying their route and tickers that say “Let’s Go Oilers!” while it’s no unusual sight to see cars and trucks drive by with plastic Oilers flags flapping in the wind.
Community organizations, and local governments, are also pulling out all the stops.
Performers with the Edmonton-based Ukrainian Shumka Dancers have gone viral for taking their skills to new stages, and in new costumes.
Donning Oilers jerseys, members of the company’s professional squad have been attending watch parties downtown and, after every goal from the home team, orchestrate an elaborate manoeuvre where a dancer is thrown back and forth by a team of 10.
It’s similar to a windshield wiper in action and speed.
“They made the Stanley Cup final, and you can expect that throw to keep flying,” said the company’s rehearsal director, Paul Olijnyk.
Final fever is also spreading outside the city limits.
Municipal leaders in the Edmonton suburb city of St. Albert held what could only be described as an emergency council meeting on Monday to unanimously sign off on spending up to $70,000 to host watch parties for the final.
For roughly $10,000 per game, the city is renting a projector and speakers and inviting fans to pull up a chair in the local rec centre parking lot on game nights.
Coun. Sheena Hughes, a budget watchdog, said the city shouldn’t have to spend as much as they think.
“They’re going to win in six games.”