Oilers have ‘different feeling’ for return trip to Florida in Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The visitor’s dressing room at Amerant Bank Arena is relatively nondescript.

Unless you are a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

Back on June 24, 2024, it was, at its core, a house of horrors for many of these same Oilers, who were overcome with the rawest of crushing emotions here after suffering a gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The symbol of their heartbreak that night was captain Connor McDavid, the most talented player on the planet who broke down weeping while sitting at his cubicle, his Cup dream having fallen one goal short.

Twelve months later, the Oilers are back here for yet another Stanley Cup Final, this time for a practice heading into Game 3 of the 2025 Cup Final on Monday (8 p.m. ET: MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). The focus is obviously on this series, which is tied 1-1, but the memories, however painful, just don’t evaporate with the snap of the fingers.

For defenseman Darnell Nurse, the formula is simple.

Same room. Same arena. Same opponent. Same teams in the Stanley Cup Final.

Different year.

And that, he said, makes being back easier to digest.

“It’s a different, different feeling,” Nurse told NHL.com on Sunday, looking around the room. “It was very emotional for us. Obviously, a lot of memories come flying back. You get those whenever you return to a place you’ve played before in the playoffs, but obviously losing a Game 7 here is always going to stick with you.”

Edmonton has played here once since that Game 7 defeat, a 4-3 loss in a regular-season game on Feb. 27. Nurse said being back for that game was therapeutic but added the stakes of a Stanley Cup Final bring the narrative of the loss from almost a year ago full circle.

“I think we just look at it as another opportunity to win a Stanley Cup and, being back here, using that as motivation,” he said.

“Yes, it was one game -- one very important game in which we didn’t get it done. But don’t forget (that) we’ve also had games here where we’ve had big moments and extended series.”

Nurse was referring to Game 5 of the Final last year, when the visiting Oilers defeated the Panthers 5-3. It was part of a valiant comeback attempt in a series in which the Oilers lost the first three games, won the next three and then fell short in the deciding game.

The only change here this year, Nurse said, is the team is staying at a different hotel.

“Other than that, everything's kind of the same,” he said. “So, the routine doesn’t change.

“We’re all creatures of routine.”

Forward Connor Brown said there’s actually a sense of calm derived from having already been in this place, this situation.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We’ve played in this rink before. There's a comfort level in that. And there’s a benefit in that you kind of know what to expect now that you’ve been here. And so, you learn from experience too.”

For Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, the memories of Game 7 will never go away, especially when he’s in this building. It’s how you channel your focus to concentrate on the present and the future, rather than dwell on the past.

“No matter how much time passes, it will always be on your mind, especially when you get that close,” Knoblauch said. “But I think right now, being here, everyone’s concentration is on right now. So, I don’t think (past memories) help anything.

“I think we’re in a new stage, in our season, on our path, and we’re just focused on what we need to do right now.”