Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be keeping his own blog throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. He will check in regularly with behind-the-scenes access.
In his first entry from Stanley Cup Final Media Day, Nugent-Hopkins discusses having time off since winning the Western Conference Final on Sunday, playing in the Cup Final for the first time in his NHL career and the excitement ahead of Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).
I think it's kind of nice to have those few days after the Western Conference Final to soak it in a little bit and really realize that it's really happening and kind of let it sink in. But I do believe that once we get going tomorrow, it's going to go by fast and it's not going to feel a whole lot different probably than any other series we have. Because I mean, at the end of the day, there still is a hockey game every night and you'd have to be your best and you have to do what made you get here. So to have a few days between series has been nice.
It's a ton of fun. I mean, this is the ultimate moment. This is why you work so hard as a kid. You wanted to make it to the NHL, you want to play for the Stanley Cup. It’s been a dream of mine for as long as I remember, and I’m having a ton of fun and I’m excited to get the hockey part going.
The first game back in Edmonton, the crowd is going be electric. They have been electric all playoffs, so the atmosphere is going to be insane. I’m sure this atmosphere here, they got to the Final last year, we saw what it’s all about, and I’m sure they are going to be excited come tomorrow. You’ve got to manage that as much as you can. Sometimes you can still take some energy, whether it’s the opposing crowd or not, you just want to enjoy it.
Leading up to the game, of course, you'll be thinking about it throughout the day. But I think the important thing is to approach it like any other game throughout the playoffs. Obviously I’m not going to get to a lot today, just kind of resting and watch some shows.
