Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Joke About Diverting Panthers Plane Ahead of Game 3

June 13, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

The Florida Panthers have proven a major headache for the Edmonton Oilers thus far in the Stanley Cup Final.

First, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky dominated Game 1 as Florida scored a 3-0 shutout win. Then, a big third period from center Evan Rodrigues paced the Panthers in Game 2.

Ahead of Game 3 Thursday in Edmonton, drastic measures appear to have been placed on the table. Among them: diverting Florida’s team plane from Edmonton, as Canadian air traffic controllers joked about doing Wednesday.

“I’ve got about a two-hour hold for you, or whatever it would take that you’d be low enough on fuel that you’ll have to divert from Edmonton,” a controller said over the radio in audio posted by Andy Slater of WMEN-AM in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. “Mention it to your passengers, maybe they’ll figure it out.”

NEW: Florida Panthers pilots were jokingly told by a Canadian air traffic controller to run low on fuel so the team wouldn’t be able land in Edmonton.

Pilots from other flights join in on the conversation.

(h/t @JOSE97LUIS) pic.twitter.com/IlbauIcVJM

— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) June 13, 2024

That appeared to be followed by authorization for the plane to land in Edmonton “against (the controller’s) better judgment.”

As Slater noted, pilots from other flights proceeded to join in on the conversation.

“Maybe you can divert them,” one noted.

“I threatened them with a hold until they would have to divert,” the original controller said, to laughter over multiple radios.

“The last call you guys need is (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman calling the (air traffic control),” one replied.

2 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Panthers Hold Off Rangers in Game 6 to Lock Up Third Eastern Conference Title

For the fifth straight year, the Stanley Cup finals will have a Floridian flavor.

The Florida Panthers downed the New York Rangers 2–1 Saturday evening in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to win the series. With the victory, the Panthers won their third conference championship and second in as many years.

Previous Florida trips to the Stanley Cup finals include 1996, when the third-year franchise was swept by the Colorado Avalanche, and 2023, when the team lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

To best the Rangers Saturday, the Panthers overcame a Herculean effort from New York goalie Igor Shesterkin. Center Sam Bennett staked Florida to a 1–0 lead at 19:10 of the first period, and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko added a second nine minutes into the third.

The Rangers opened their account with left wing Artemi Panarin's goal at 18:20 of the third period, but it was too little too late for New York's best team by points percentage since 1972.

The Panthers will meet either the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals; the Oilers lead their series three games to two with Game 6 scheduled for Sunday evening.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

When Was the Last Time the Edmonton Oilers Won the Stanley Cup? Full List of Championship Years

If a team based in Edmonton, Alberta dominating a North American sports league seems odd in the 2020s, imagine how it must have looked in the greed-is-good 1980s.

That was life for the Edmonton Oilers with center Wayne Gretzky and his contemporaries, during which the team was the class of the hockey world. From their humble World Hockey Association origins—their first game, as the Alberta Oilers, was played against the long-dead Ottawa Nationals—they rose to epitomize a flashy, high-scoring epoch of the sport.

As Edmonton seeks Stanley Cup number six this season, here's a look back at how the Oilers won their first five.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Oilers 1, Islanders 0
Game 2	Islanders 6, Oilers 1
Game 3	Oilers 7, Islanders 2
Game 4	Oilers 7, Islanders 2
Game 5	Oilers 5, Islanders 2

A changing of the guard—the New York Islanders had won the last four Stanley Cups and beaten Edmonton the year prior. Gretzky's first title, although Oilers forward Mark Messier won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The first time since the Victoria Cougars' 1925 triumph that the Cup went west of the Central time zone.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Flyers 4, Oilers 1
Game 2	Oilers 3, Flyers 1
Game 3	Oilers 4, Flyers 3
Game 4	Oilers 5, Flyers 3
Game 5	Oilers 8, Flyers 3

This series belonged to Gretzky. His seven goals are tied for the fifth-most in any Stanley Cup Finals; all four of the greater totals were recorded in 1922 or earlier. His 47 playoff points are a still-standing record for one postseason, for which he won his first Smythe Trophy.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Oilers 4, Flyers 2
Game 2	Oilers 3, Flyers 2 (OT)
Game 3	Flyers 5, Oilers 3
Game 4	Oilers 4, Flyers 1
Game 5	Flyers 4, Oilers 3
Game 6	Flyers 3, Oilers 2
Game 7	Oilers 3, Flyers 1

A legendary series between two 100-point teams in the regular season. The Flyers won Game 3 after trailing 3-0, the first such comeback in Stanley Cup Finals history. Philadelphia led Game 7 1-0 after just 1:41, but goals by Messier, right wing Jari Kurri and right wing Glenn Anderson gave Edmonton the title.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Oilers 2, Bruins 1
Game 2	Oilers 4, Bruins 2
Game 3	Oilers 6, Bruins 3
Game 4	Oilers 6, Bruins 3

A notable series for precisely two reasons. First, Game 4 was suspended during the second period—and ultimately relocated to and replayed in Edmonton—after the power went out at Boston Garden. Second, after scoring a goal and recording two assists in the clincher, Gretzky never played another game for the Oilers.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Oilers 3, Bruins 2 (3OT)
Game 2	Oilers 7, Bruins 2
Game 3	Bruins 2, Oilers 1
Game 4	Oilers 5, Bruins 1
Game 5	Oilers 4, Bruins 1

Edmonton's only Stanley Cup after trading Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988; the Oilers swept the Kings on their way to the Finals. Game 1 is still the longest-ever Stanley Cup Finals game. Goalie Bill Ranford won the Smythe Trophy, the only major individual accolade of his career.

3 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Oilers Fend Off Stars in Game 6 to Reach First Stanley Cup Finals Since 2006

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Oilers shut the door on the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday night, propelling themselves to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2006.

McDavid led the charge offensively, providing two points, including a sublime toe-dragging goal in the first period, in order to lift Edmonton over Dallas, 2–1. The Oilers registered just 10 shots on target in the game, 25 fewer than the Stars and the fewest ever by a team in a win to clinch the Western Conference Final.

Despite their lack of shooting, Edmonton’s special teams effort was sensational. Both Oilers goals game on the power play and they denied Dallas on each of their man advantages on Sunday night. They've prevented a goal on 28 consecutive penalties.

It marks the first time in McDavid's career that he'll be playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, and he'll be looking to help the franchise lift Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time since 1990. The Oilers have five championships in their history, and they'll be looking to add a sixth, with the championship bout against the Florida Panthers due to get underway on Saturday, June 8.

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Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Joke About Diverting Panthers Plane Ahead of Game 3

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