Canadians should rally behind Oilers

Nation's last Stanley Cup hope includes McDavid. Isn't that reason enough to cheer?

- DAMIEN COX

We know Edmonton is wild about its Oilers.

But what about the rest of Canada?

We’re going to start finding out, over the next week or so, just how much the rest of the nation is prepared to rally behind Edmonton’s NHL team as it tries to become the first Canadian franchise since 1993 to win the Stanley Cup. The Oilers probably don’t care whether anybody outside of the Alberta capital embraces them or not. Still, that element is undeniably part of the fabric of this series as it switches to Edmonton, after the first two games against the Dallas Stars resulted in one win each.

Both teams can make a claim to being worthy of a 2-0 series lead. Edmonton got the overtime triumph in Game 1, then utterly dominated the first period of Game 2 on Saturday before Dallas triumphed 3-1.

Edmonton is unhappy that its lethal power play was only given three chances in the first two games, and hasn’t been able to score.

“That’s a good question,” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said when asked about the paucity of Oilers opportunities with the man advantage.

Edmonton would love special teams to become a bigger part of the story.

Dallas, meanwhile, continues to get by without the services of top forward Roope Hintz, who might return for Monday night’s Game 3. Sniper Jason Robertson is struggling. Edmonton may be lobbying for more power plays, but Dallas is one of the league’s least penalized teams.