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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 15, 2024, 07:45 AM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
EDMONTON — The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is a battle between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Two teams from different countries with different legacies. Each team has their own philosophy about how to properly pass the time on marathon flights between the cities.
The Stanley Cup Final is also Team Mario Kart vs. Team Poker.
The Oilers and Panthers have set an NHL record for the longest distance between two teams in a Stanley Cup Final, at 2,541 miles. That’s a lot of time in the air and a lot of time to be passed.
The Oilers pass that time with games of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch gaming console.
Fans first heard about these trips down Rainbow Road during Edmonton’s Western Conference finals series against the Dallas Stars. After their Game 5 win, goalie Stuart Skinner was asked about having the chance to clinch a trip to the Stanley Cup Final back in Edmonton, and calming his nerves about it.
“Just stay in the moment. Tomorrow, I get to live my life and go on the plane and beat these guys at Mario Kart. I’ll probably get a couple first places. I’m sure of it,” he said, confidently.
He used Mario Kart for the same therapeutic means after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, when the Oilers flew back from Fort Lauderdale down 2-0 in the series.
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“I’m not putting on the TV. Just Mario Kart,” he said. “I was amazing. I won a lot of games. I lost a couple, but we don’t have to talk about that.”
Skinner said he plays as Toad, “but honestly, I could be anybody.” Oilers star Connor McDavid plays as Luigi, while linemate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is Mario.
“He wants to be like me, so he picks the characters with mustaches,” Skinner said.
Defenseman Darnell Nurse doesn’t play with one specific character.
“Darnell kind of switches every once in a while,” Skinner explained. “He just wants to find any way that he can beat us, which just never happens.”
The Oilers…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40351077/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-2024-stanley-cup-final-mario-kart-poker
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-15 13:08:12
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