Game Day: McDavid leaves no stone unturned on road back to Stanley Cup Final

Connor McDavid showed off his trademark speed during Tuesday's practice, but the Oilers centre never looked completely satisfied. He chatted with head equipment manager Jeff Lang and switched skates on multiple occasions during the workout.

"Just a fun game Langer and I like to play," McDavid said with a smile. "Just working through some skate stuff, trying to find the right pair."

The Oilers captain isn't leaving anything to chance as he gets set for his second shot at a first Stanley Cup. 

"He doesn’t leave any stone unturned in any aspect of his hockey life," said Oilers forward Trent Frederic, who was acquired ahead of the trade deadline. "It’s pretty incredible to be around him."

"He likes the details and he understands the details could matter in the end," said Edmonton defenceman Mattias Ekholm. "You look at it last year, we were a goal away from a tie game in that Game 7."

The Oilers lost Game 7 against the Florida Panthers 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final last year. That painful defeat became a motivating force, which drove Edmonton back to the NHL's championship series and a rematch with the Panthers. 

Game 1 is Wednesday night in the Alberta capital.

McDavid has a chance to follow in the footsteps of a couple all-time greats. Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky both lost in their first Stanley Cup Final before avenging the defeat the next year against the same opponent. Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins exacted revenge on the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 while Gretzky's Oilers ended the New York Islanders dynasty in 1984.

"I see, obviously, the parallels that everyone wants to write about," said McDavid while sitting at a podium beside a banner featuring Gretzky's first Cup win. "This is a different story. Different teams. Different group. Just excited to have another kick at the can here. That’s all."

But there's no doubt the experience last year is valuable. The Oilers lost the first three games against the Panthers a year ago in their first steps on the biggest NHL stage.

It feels more normal, McDavid says, this year. 

"At the end of the day, it’s another series and we’re playing another great team and you got to beat them before anything else happens," said McDavid, who took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in a losing cause a year ago. "So, they have our complete focus. All of our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers. There should be nothing else on anyone’s mind."

The Stanley Cup has been the only thing on McDavid's mind for a while. New general manager Stan Bowman recalled visiting the Oilers captain last summer after taking the job.

"All he talked about was, ‘I want to win the Cup.’ That was it," Bowman said. "We didn’t talk about anything else. This is his singular focus ... Right now, he's on a mission."

McDavid leads the playoffs with 26 points in 16 games. Teammates are feeding off his determination.

"It's everything he's ever dreamed of," said Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl, who is second in playoff scoring with 25 points. "It's everything that he ever put his work in for, that he grinds for, that he plays through injuries for. It means everything to all of us. Obviously he has the — I don't know if you want to call it a 'burden' — but being the face of this franchise, a Canadian franchise, he wears it and he embraces it and it’s what makes him special."

After dropping the first two games of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers have won 12 of 14 games to surge back to the Stanley Cup Final. Their hunger is evident to the opposition. 

"They have the two best players in the league that have a fire lit under them right now," said Panthers winger Brad Marchand. "You could see it from the moment that game ended last year, Game 7.  You knew they were going to be the team back here out of the West. When you have that experience and you go through those trials and tribulations, you learn from those moments, and you learn how to be better in them. They’re definitely going to lean on that."

In 2023, the Panthers were the inexperienced group in the Stanley Cup Final and lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights. 

"For them, it’s not new," said Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk. "This day is not new. Not everybody gets to see it, but during the finals there’s way more stuff going on other than just the game. It just seems like a way longer series than a normal series too with the days in between. It is very different, long travel, just everything that goes into it. We’re three years into it and they’re two years into it, so nothing new for both teams."

The Panthers are trying to become the dynasty, but the Oilers believe it's their turn. And McDavid is looking to keep his date with destiny.

"There’s steps to everything," the 28-year-old said. "When you're a kid you want to just play in the NHL and then you want to be successful and do all these great things and then there comes a point where it's only about winning and I think this group hit that point years and years ago.

"We’re looking to finish the job."

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The Panthers found a fun way to pass the time during their nearly six-hour flight to Edmonton on Tuesday. The trip started early in the morning.

"We napped for a couple hours and then we had poker game going," said winger Carter Verhaeghe. "I don’t know if you heard about it, but it gets pretty intense. Chips are flying."

Verhaeghe scored in the clinching game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, but he no longer held a hot hand on the plane.

"I had a bad trip, unfortunately," he said with a grin. "Pretty bad."

Marchand, meanwhile, was the big winner.

“I cleaned up," the 37-year-old confirmed with a wide smile. "IRS might be coming after me after this one.”

Poker is a staple on the Panthers plane. Defenceman Aaron Ekblad recalls how defenceman Josh Mahura joined the high-roller game when he was new to the team during the 2022-23 season. 

"He didn’t necessarily want to play for the amount of money we were playing for but he gained five friends for life by being at that table and shooting the s—t with us for five, six-hour flights," Ekblad said. "It’s great. We’re tight at that table. It’s fun."

It's a great way for guys like Marchand, who was acquired at the trade deadline, to bond with new teammates.

Of course, Marchand has also endeared himself to his new teammates on the ice with 14 points in the playoffs. Tkachuk calls the former Boston Bruins captain the "perfect Panther."

"He’s built for our team on the ice and [with his] personality off the ice," Tkachuk explained.

The stakes will be higher starting on Wednesday night when Marchand returns to the Stanley Cup Final and pursues his second ring.

“The longer you’re in it, you realize how hard it is to win and how many things need to go right and just how perfect everything needs to line up," said Marchand, who lifted the Cup with the Bruins in his second season way back in 2011.

Marchand's Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019. 

"You watch your 15, 16, 17 years go by, and you really had one opportunity to do it," Marchand said. "It makes it pretty special to be here again."

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Griffin Perry, the seven-year-old son of Corey Perry, watched Oilers practice from the team's bench and then joined his dad at the podium for media day.

"He knows everybody in the league," Perry said of his son. "He knows what positions they play, who’s the leading scorer, all the things, because he’s watching the highlights every single morning and playing mini sticks at the same time before school. So, this is why I’m still playing too is to have him to have an opportunity to feel and touch the Stanley Cup. It’s something I want to give him."

Perry lifted the Cup during his second season with the Anaheim Ducks way back in 2007. This is the fifth time in the last six years he's made it back to the Stanley Cup Final, but the 40-year-old is still looking for a second title and first as a father.

Regardless of what happens in the next couple of weeks, the winger plans to return for a 21st season. Retirement is not on his mind.

"It’s just not in me to think about it," he said. "I don’t think that’s going to come into my head."

Considering how well he's playing, you can understand why. Perry is tied with Draisaitl for the Oilers playoff goals lead with seven.

And Perry is enjoying having his son along for the ride. He gladly allowed Griffin to take the microphone on Tuesday.

Griffin, unlike his dad, plays centre.

"It’s hard for him to teach me," Griffin noted.

"But you have a pretty good teacher though, don’t you?" dad responded. "Who’s your teacher?"

"Leon," Griffin said to laughs.

Griffin has a great teacher and a great story to tell his friends when he gets back to school.

"I think they think I’m sick," Griffin said. 

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Oilers winger Connor Brown missed Tuesday's practice. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch described the winger as a "game-time decision" for Wednesday.