Oilers and fans prepare to take on Dallas in the Western Conference final

CB CS Madeline Cummings is in Dallas for tonight's game. Madeline, have you seen any Oilers fans who are going to the game tonight? Yes, Natasha. We've talked to a bunch of fans from Edmonton. They are easy to recognize because they're all wearing their Edmonton Oilers jerseys today. Coming up to us, sharing a few words telling us how excited they are about tonight's game. And I actually have a fan here with me right now who's happy to chat with us about what he's looking forward to. This is Curtis Craig, who's from Leduc, Florida, but he's been living in the Dallas area since 2005. S Curtis, what are you most looking forward to with tonight's game? Oh, just the opportunity to see the Oilers play against the Stars. I'm really looking forward to to being able to go to work tomorrow and to rub it into my, my coworkers faces when the Oilers win tonight. That's what I'm really looking forward to. Yeah. Now back when you moved to Dallas from Alberta, you received a hockey related gift. Tell me more about that. Yeah, we found out we were moving to Dallas with work. We were going to be transferred and we had a going away party at my place and, and, and it was in January in Edmonton. As you can imagine, it was it was quite cold. We opened up the present later in the night and it was a Dallas Stars jersey. And it was it was funny. They all thought it was quite funny. And so I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided we would take it out back and we would send it back to the gods. And we tried to light a fire in the in the in the fire pit. It wouldn't work. So we decided to throw it on the BBQ. Needless to say, it melted. And my wife was very happy to discover that in the morning. So, yeah, that's, that's exactly what happened. Never wearing that jersey. Never wearing that jersey. I know I could never cheer for the Stars. No, absolutely not. Yeah. What kind of a hockey community is there here in Dallas? It's a, it's a small the rabbit community. When the Stars won the Cup in 1999, hockey really took off. Kids started playing the game. And there is star centers in the area where there's adult leagues and, and, and kids leagues. So it's really grown. And even in the last couple years, there's been kids that have been drafted into the NHL that grew up in the Dallas area. So it's really growing. You know, it's not like football or baseball or basketball. It's probably the fourth most favorite sport, but it's a small but rapid fan base for sure. Yeah, you actually took the day off work today, even though the game is not until the night. So tell us more about that. Yeah, I, I've taken the day off the day of the first two series, right, Just to prepare and for good luck and seeing us how it worked the first two times, I wasn't going to let that pass. And even before I agreed to do this, I took the day off. So yeah, I, I, I want to get, you know, my space prepared in the house and get the house cleaned up, get the dogs walked and just being a good frame of mind, have the same lunch that I had to start the first round on. The second round would be a tuna sandwich. So it's I know it's silly, but it's it's my ritual, I guess. What are your predictions for this series? Do you think Edmonton could win? Absolutely. I mean, I'm a realist. Dallas is, is a is a deep team and they're really good. But if Connor Leon and and Nuge Hyman, if the if the Big 5 can steal us two games and if goaltending is good, we can win the series. So I think the Warriors can win in seven. I I really believe that. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madeline, that was Curtis Craig there like that level the tuna sandwich, walk the dogs, clean the house, take the day off work to prepare. Oh, and the jersey on the BBQ. I mean, he could have donated it. But anyway, that level of dedication from a fan and from so many others, I imagine is really helping the players in this series. Tell us about that. Yeah. And those are just some of the superstitions that Curtis has in terms of how the Oilers have been doing playing away games during the playoffs. They won two games against LA and LA, and they won two away games as well in Vancouver. So they can play well outside of their hometown arena. But these two teams met three times during the regular season, and the Edmonton Oilers lost two out of those three meetings, only winning that one game in overtime. So people here in Dallas are saying that they're feeling very confident heading into these heading into this series. Dallas just beat the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights, two teams that most recently won the Stanley Cup. So the Edmonton Oilers have an uphill battle, but fans are saying don't count them out. They have the superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Drysidal. OK, Madeline Cummings, have a good time and thank you so much.