A small Oilers fan named Skye turns her back to the self destructing Oilers trailing by three during the 2025 playoffs. She can only take so much.
For whatever reason, after the first ten minutes of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers completely fell apart. There was no urgency, no desperation- just a flat, uninspired performance. As Leon Draisaitl put it back in Game 3, they were “lollygagging around”. It was a painful display of self-destruction and self-sabotage. Most of us turned the channel after the Panthers built a three-goal lead. Had they played with grit and intensity, even with a loss, they could have held their heads high, knowing they stayed true to who they are as players. But there wasn’t even that. It was total humiliation in front of all their home crowd.
In post-game interviews, the Oilers had little to offer, beyond vague references to looking forward to the next game and how the team embraces adversity.
Even Coach Rob Knoblauch conceded today – perhaps with some exasperation – that this group seems to thrive best when they’re nearly written off:
“For some reason when their backs are up against the wall and they’ve hit rock bottom or they’re facing elimination… (and) couldn’t get much worse… they play their best. Facing elimination isn’t an ideal situation but for this group that’s…the situation they want to be in”.
There’s something psychologically strange going on with this team. Dad tapped into it last June during our last playoff run:
When the Edmonton Oilers are firing on all cylinders, their talent is undeniable. And then there was Game 5 – one of two or three games remaining in the post season, just two wins away from the Stanley Cup, and in front of the best home crowd in hockey. What was missing? How much higher could the stakes be?
While the exact percentage is debated, the mental side of hockey is said to account for at least 50% of performance.
I think of my own experiences – how some of my best work has come under pressure, when a deadline is looming. How many of us have written surprisingly good essays at 1 am, adrenaline pumpking, focus razor-sharp? There is a kind of brilliance that can be forged in the fires of urgency.
We’re often most ourselves – raw, unfiltered – when expectations are lowest and we are stripped down to our essence. There’s astronomical potential in those high-stakes moments. How often have se seen a team score with seconds left to force overtime?
Of course, there’s a fine line to all of this and other pesky factors remain – we are all bound by limitations in space and time, and in hockey, that elusive “luck”.