ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
In hockey, there's this idea that stars have to lose a Stanley Cup before they can win one. That's the pass some hockey greats have taken like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. Now this era's biggest talent has a shot to follow in those footsteps when the Stanley Cup Final begins tonight. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is here in the studio. Hey, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hello, Ari.
SHAPIRO: OK, this Stanley Cup Final is between the Florida Panthers...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: ...And the Edmonton Oilers. And the star we're talking about is Connor McDavid.
SULLIVAN: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. This is the best player in hockey. He's just, like, a transcendent player, and I think so good that you don't have to be a hockey fan to be able to identify him when you turn on an Oilers game. You will instantly know who we're talking about. No. 97 in the orange and blue, 28-year-old star, widely considered the best player of this current generation.
SHAPIRO: What's so great about him?
SULLIVAN: Well, his puck skills are insane. He's incredibly fast on the ice and deft with the puck. He's incredible both at scoring, creating opportunities for his teammates. And I actually think the main thing that sort of elevates him to superstar is the intangible part, which is that he always seems to be able to put his mark on a game when it's needed from him. And so this is how Eddie Olczyk put it. He's a longtime NHL player who's now an analyst for TNT.
EDDIE OLCZYK: Honestly, I get the same feeling that I get when I watch Patrick Mahomes down in a football game, time coming down, he has the ball. You just know he's going to score. I get that same feeling when Michael would get the ball - that the Bulls were going to win.
SULLIVAN: And so, you know, this guy, Connor McDavid, he's won essentially every significant individual award that you can name in hockey. But his name isn't on the Stanley Cup. And he might be the best player to ever play hockey whose name isn't there, so it's kind of the last remaining knock against him.
SHAPIRO: The Florida Panthers stand in his way. He's with the Oilers. This is a rematch. What should we expect?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. Yeah, rematch of last year, as you said. That was an incredibly thrilling series. It went all the way to seven games. The Panthers won the first three games. It seems like, wow, that they were going to sweep - what a breeze to the Stanley Cup. But instead, the Oilers, led by McDavid, won Game 4, then they won Game 5, then they won Game 6. And it was like, oh, man, these guys might pull off this historic comeback, force this dramatic winner-take-all Game 7, which the Panthers won.
So obviously, Florida is a great team. This is actually the third year in a row they've reached the Stanley Cup Final. They lost that first year then won last year, led by star Matthew Tkachuk, who has been a big name in NHL circles for a while but really kind of burst into more of a household name status outside of hockey this past February with the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he was the sort of star big player for USA in those fun, tense games against Canada. And that Canadian team, of course, featured Connor McDavid, by the way, so lots of history there.
SHAPIRO: Does all this history make it a better watch or more of like a rerun?
SULLIVAN: Oh, I think a better watch. I mean, there's all sorts of ways that a rematch, I think, make it kind of easier on the guys. Like, there was this big media day yesterday where players mentioned some of these things, like Edmonton to Miami. That's a very long flight. That was kind of a shock to the system last year. I think those guys are used to it now. But also, there's...
SHAPIRO: The humidity.
SULLIVAN: (Laughter) Exactly. But also, there is this emotional aspect. That is what Anson Carter told me about. He is a TNT analyst who played in the NHL for 11 seasons. Like, the Oilers, that's a lot that you have to put into coming back, trying to come back to win the seven-game series. They were gutted, devastated when they lost that final game. Carter says those emotions don't just disappear.
ANSON CARTER: We typically don't see a lot of fights in the final either. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a couple of guys dropping the gloves. They saw each other last year. Yeah, there's a lot of turnover, but there's a lot of guys still back that felt that pain.
SULLIVAN: So, you know, we're not condoning fights here on NPR, but...
SHAPIRO: (Laughter) To be clear.
SULLIVAN: Emotions, investment, that is what makes sports of any kind fun to watch. And so I think you have all of that context going into this. I think it's going to be a great matchup.
SHAPIRO: Who's going to win?
SULLIVAN: OK, you can't do that to me.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
SULLIVAN: Last time, this went to seven games. It's impossible to say. But I'll tell you what I am hoping for, which is more close games, more dramatic outcomes, great play by the stars. What else can you ask for?
SHAPIRO: Way to dodge the question.
SULLIVAN: (Laughter).
SHAPIRO: Becky Sullivan, thanks a lot.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF VANILLA ICE SONG, "ICE ICE BABY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
