If you are a Canadian you’ve been there before, though possibly only in your dreams. The Stanley Cup finals. Game seven. One game to prove who is the best in the hockey universe.

For most of us that is a memory from our childhood. When we played road hockey, as pretty much every Canadian kid did, it was always that deciding game. We felt the weight if those expectations, the tension and uncertainty. Game seven was the crucible in which we were tested, and we would rise to the occasion, even if it was only a dream that could be interrupted by our mothers calling us inside for dinner.

For members of the Edmonton Oilers, that dream has become reality. Tonight is the deciding game of the NHL’s championship series. Game seven. It should be pressure-filled, but it won’t be,

They have played this game before, hundreds of times, in their heads when they were children. They always won then; why would tonight be any different?

The Stanley Cup is considered the toughest professional sports trophy to win. A long and grueling season (82 games plus some pre-season tune-ups) is followed by a long playoff season that started almost three months ago. Tonight there ae two teams left of the 16 that made it to the playoffs. They have played more than 100 games overall, and this is the only one that will be remembered.

The Oilers fell behind three games to none in this best of seven. When that happened, very few people expected the series to go this long. No-one expected the Oilers to win – you just don’t win four straight when you are down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup final.

But it has been done. Once. In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs bounced back from a three game deficit and won the Cup. Since then, some teams have come close to replicating the feat, but have always lost that seventh game.

Tonight though the dream may become a reality. Watching the sixth game on television, it seemed to me that there was a sense of inevitability with the Oilers players. They feel this is their year. They refused to give up when so many had written them off.

At the same time, the looks on the faces of the Florida Panthers as the previous game came to a close seemed beyond unhappy at losing a hockey game. They lost in the finals in 2023 and made some offseason improvements to strengthen the team. They were supposed to have learned from adversity last year, but they no longer look all that confident.

It has been 31 years since a Canadian team last won the Stanley Cup – the longest such drought in Cup history. Given that hockey is Canada’s game, the losses year after year hurt, even though there are always Canadians on the Cup-winning team. It just isn’t the same when a team from a Canadian city doesn’t win.

The experts will tell you that the Panthers will win tonight. They are too good to lose four straight and they have home ice advantage.

The experts though aren’t on the ice. Upsets happen in sports, though perhaps not as frequently as we would like,

Canadians are believing in a sports miracle. Stanley is finally coming home.

We’ll soon find out if that faith is justified.