With apologies to diehard Flames fans down province in Calgary and loyalists of the eliminated Maple Leafs, it appears that hockey fans from coast-to-coast are embracing the Edmonton Oilers as Canada’s team. Article content

Games 1 and 2 of the wildly entertaining best-of-seven series between the Oilers and Florida Panthers drew huge ratings on Sportsnet and CBC. Article content Article content

The opener, won 4-3 in overtime by the Oilers last Wednesday, drew an average audience of four million viewers while Game 2, won 5-4 in double overtime by the Panthers two nights later, brought in 4.2 million.

Combined, the two opening games mark a healthy increase of 14% over the 2024 Cup final contested between the same two teams.

Of note, those two big numbers came despite the ridiculous

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