Game 7: Oilers vs. Flyers

After waiting 9 days of patiently downloading 160 MB each day, my iTunes purchase arrived: 1987 Stanley Cup Final - Game 7 - Philadelphia Flyers vs. Edmonton Oilers.

I was in grade 5 and a new fan to hockey. My favorite players were (and continue to be)

• Glenn Anderson (9)
• Esa Tikkanen (10)
• Craig MacTavish (14)
• Grant Fuhr (31)
• Kevin Lowe (4)
• Craig Muni (28)
• Jari Kurri (17)

I haven't as into hockey since the core of this Oilers team disbanded over the following years. Watching them play again was quite a trip. The game is completely different today. Back then it was wide open and the passing and skating was incredible. They almost always carried the puck into the zone, only dumping it in when there was a line change.

Aside from the thrill of seeing the amazing plays by the Oilers and the great saves by Ron Hextall of the Flyers (he won the Conn Smyth even though the Flyers lost the Cup), it was interesting to watch from a historical perspective. The fans were pretty unruly and ignorant throughout most of the game too. They booed Hextall when he got the Conn Smyth. They threw garbage on the ice frequently throughout the game. The worst came at the end. When the cup was presented to captain Wayne Gretzky a bunch of Edmonton fans already flooded the ice - tugging at the cup and at the players. It completely ruined the moment for the players and you can read their lips as they yell at the fans to leave the ice. After watching that, I can't blame Gretzky for moving to L.A. a year later.