The excitement is palpable across Canadian hockey fans from coast to coast, as not one, not two, but THREE teams from The Great White North have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Marking the first time since 2004 that there have been three Canadian squads to reach the second round, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets all have a chance of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Canada this year, which hasn’t been done since 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens.
Last Thursday on May 1, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the first Canadian team to secure their spot after defeating the Ottawa Senators during Game 6. The Edmonton Oilers also beat out the Los Angeles Kings that evening in Game 6, followed by the Winnipeg Jets overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the St. Louis Blues in a nail-biting Game 7 win.
Eight teams are now battling it out on the ice: the Toronto Maple Leafs are taking on the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers against the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars, and Washington Capitals vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.
Toronto is off to a good start, winning their first game in the Eastern Conference on Monday, May 5, leading the series 1-0. Game 2 takes place tonight, May 7 at 7 pm ET. Carolina is also up 1-0 in the second round.
As for the Western Conference, Edmonton won their first game against Vegas. Winnipeg plays their first game against Dallas tonight.
The last time two Canadian teams reached the Conference Finals was in 1994, when the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks went on to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost in seven games to the New York Rangers. The previous year, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Kings in five games — marking the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs famously have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, a pain point Torontonians are all too familiar with. Could this be the year? We’ll soon find out!