Commentary: The Oilers, on the precipice of the Stanley Cup, have given Edmonton everything in this playoff run

EDMONTON – Close your eyes and it won’t take long to envision the scenes.

The pulsating noise in the arena that reached 113.8 decibels as the Edmonton Oilers skated onto the ice before the game.

The chants of “Ser-gei, Ser-gei” that started before the Star-Spangled Banner to mock Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, calls that picked up whenever there was the slightest sign he might crack.

The waves of people wearing orange and blue jerseys, plus the dozens of others clad in unique garb to support their team. For example, there were more than a few turtle costumes to taunt public enemy No. 1 Matthew Tkachuk.

By the time beloved winger Zach Hyman scored to put the Oilers up three goals late in the second period in Game 6, it felt like the roof was going to come off the building.

As the final buzzer sounded and the team’s win song, “La Bamba,” blared over the speakers – a tribute to late longtime dressing room attendant Joey Moss and superfan Ben Stelter – it was a full-on party.

The downtown Edmonton rink was louder than it’s ever been as the Oilers won their third straight game to tie the Stanley Cup Final and force Game 7. There haven’t been many atmospheres like it around the NHL ever.

It was perfect. The last game in Edmonton this season encapsulated what the Oilers mean to the city – and how much the Stanley Cup would mean to the fans.

It’s a place where people eat, drink, sleep and breathe hockey – and specifically the Oilers. There’s always a conversation to be had about how the Oilers are playing, who they should sign or trade, or which ref has it out to get them.

There might not be an equivalent around the league. That’s not hyperbole.

Ask Mattias Ekholm, who loves what it means to represent the Oilers because of how the team resonates in the community. Or Hyman, who’s said repeatedly that signing with the Oilers three years ago is the best decision he’s made in his life. Or another Torontonian and former Maple Leaf Connor Brown.

Brown said earlier in the series that the noise in Edmonton was unlike anything he’d heard before, adding there have been moments in the playoffs when he couldn’t hear what a teammate was saying a meter away. Friday, though, was on another level.

Oilers fans have waited almost two decades for a game of that magnitude. The last time there was a contest of such importance in Edmonton was Game 6 of the 2006 Cup Final. The Oilers demolished the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 that night, a score that flattered the visitors, and sent the series back to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the winner-take-all affair.

We all know how that ended.

And so, the team and its fans have so desperately waited for another chance at a championship.

The Oilers were once the greatest show on ice captained by the incomparable Wayne Gretzky. They won five titles in seven years, including their last one in 1990 after Gretzky had been sold to the Los Angeles Kings. They were an offensive juggernaut and exhibited creativity, grace and skill – and no lack of toughness. They employed seven future Hockey Hall of Fame players – including current assistant coach Paul Coffey – and coach Glen Sather. Aside from Oilers fans, they were everyone’s second favorite team – well, except in Calgary.

Those teams and players are still treated with such reverence today. But the truth is all that happened two generations ago. No one younger than 40 has any memories of the glory days.

Even the 2006 run was 18 years ago. A segment of the fan base grew up through the Decade of Darkness, a period where the Oilers missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons and were gifted four No. 1 draft picks. It was an unimaginable state of futility for a once-proud franchise.

But the last of those top picks was Gretzky’s heir apparent, Connor McDavid, a generational star who’s maybe been even better than anyone predicted he’d be. All he’s done is become the NHL’s best player for most of his time in the league, and he just broke The Great One’s record for assists in a playoff year.

Still, it’s taken nine seasons for McDavid – to say nothing of 2014 No. 3 selection Leon Draisaitl being almost as good – and the Oilers to get to this point. That’s something clearly not lost on this success-starved city so devoted to its team.

The sights and sounds as the Oilers got one step closer to one of the most improbable comebacks in pro sports history were unforgettable.

“It means the world to us,” Draisaitl said. “I’ve been here for a long time and been through some pretty bad years. The people that were there (at Game 6), they showed up every night and still showed up at games and supported us. So, to give them that is really special.

“Hopefully we can finish the job for them.”

Given what was on display Friday, you can only imagine what the spectacle in Edmonton will be like if they do return from Florida with the Stanley Cup.