By now, it’s been discussed in the sports world. It isn’t only about the hockey being played in late June. It’s whether or not the Edmonton Oilers can make history on Monday night against the Florida Panthers.

Once upon a time, they trailed the Panthers 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. Astonishingly, they scored only one goal in the first two games. Then, a late third period rally fell short in Game 3 back in Edmonton.

At that moment, it looked over. Someone forgot to tell the Oilers. Boasting the game’s best player in Connor McDavid, anything is possible. When asked about the unenviable position they were put in, he said, “It isn’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra would’ve been proud.

Up to that point, McDavid had been held without a goal by the Panthers over the first three games. But as he pointed out, they were getting chances. Sergei Bobrovsky was a brick wall for the first eight periods of the series. He allowed only two goals.

Even with Edmonton breaking through twice on goals from Phillip Broberg and Ryan McLeod, Bobrovsky robbed McLeod of the tying goal with Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker. The Panthers shut it down from there to pull within one win of their first Stanley Cup.

Entering Game 4, Bobrovsky was the Conn Smythe favorite. He’d performed brilliantly – giving up only four goals on 86 shots against an explosive offense. Neither McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl had gotten untracked. Aleksander Barkov had outplayed both by a significant margin.

Things changed last Saturday. In Game 4, the Oilers erupted for eight goals in an 8-1 blowout victory over the Panthers. Before McDavid finally scored his first career Stanley Cup goal that made it 4-1, they got key contributions from other players.

Mattias Janmark scored a shorthanded goal on a Connor Brown pass in front over three minutes in. Adam Henrique then tipped in a Janmark pass over three and a half minutes later that made it 2-0. It was exactly the kind of start Edmonton needed.

After Vladimir Tarasenko answered to cut it to 2-1, Dylan Holloway replied back on a McDavid feed to restore a two-goal lead. Holloway would later add his second during an uncompetitive third period. He also assisted on a McLeod goal.

As it turned out, the Oilers’ secondary scoring has played an important role in rallying them back to tie the series. They still needed a remarkable performance from McDavid to hold off the Panthers for a 5-3 win to take Game 5.

After Brown scored another shorthanded goal to set the tone early, McDavid took over. Following a Zach Hyman power-play goal, he helped set up, McDavid then created a signature moment by skating through almost the entire Panthers to score a highlight reel goal that made it 3-0. Following a Matthew Tkachuk tally, McDavid then turned on the afterburners to set up Corey Perry. It was breathtaking stuff from him.

Edmonton still had to hang on. Goals from Evan Rodrigues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it a one-goal game. They got some key saves from Skinner. An afterthought in the goalie matchup, he’s handled himself well during the historic comeback. He made 29 saves to win Game 5.

McDavid put a stamp on the victory with an empty netter that is best known for Tkachuk’s diving save to prevent a goal. It was pretty astonishing. McDavid wound up with four points to send the series back to Edmonton.

On Friday night before a raucous atmosphere at Rogers Place, it was the play of those secondary players that led the Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Panthers. Despite what the final score indicated, the game was much closer.

If there was a period that the Oilers dominated, it was the first one. A pass for Barkov bounced off his skate for a neutral zone turnover. That allowed Brett Kulak to move the puck up for Draisaitl, who made a great pass over for an easy Warren Foegle finish. Despite having a power play along with other chances, Edmonton only took a one-goal lead to the locker room.

The second period started out well. Henrique finished off a Janmark pass to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead, only 46 seconds in. But the play was mostly controlled by the Panthers.

In fact, with the building still celebrating the Henrique goal, Barkov thought he’d cut it to one just 10 seconds later. He put in his own rebound.

However, after a delay, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch decided to challenge the play for offside. The replays on ABC/ESPN were hard to tell. It was awfully close. The question was whether Carter Verhaeghe still had his skate on the blue line when the puck broke the plane. It was a matter of center meters. Even rules expert Dave Jackson was puzzled. He wasn’t sure he would’ve challenged it. A point Panthers coach Paul Maurice echoed in the postgame.

After a lengthy review, they determined that the play was offside. While fans rejoiced, Maurice fumed at the Florida bench. Who could blame him? It had to be frustrating. They didn’t see anything definitive on their video that would overturn the goal. I was perplexed as well. But a freeze frame view showed that there was a shade of white ice between the skate of Verhaeghe and the blue line. That was enough to reverse the call.

It was a crucial moment. Had the goal stood, who knows what would’ve happened. That could’ve given the Panthers the momentum needed to turn the game around.

Instead, they played a good period. But they were unable to beat Skinner. A lousy power play certainly didn’t help. McDavid was off for hooking with 9:03 remaining. Florida couldn’t do anything.

It was the very aggressive Oilers’ penalty kill that continued to be the story. They’ve been unbelievable during this postseason, killing off 94.1 percent of penalties. They’re 64-for-68. Throw in the three shorthanded goals with two coming during their comeback, and it’s been dominant.

Late in the period, Hyman got behind for a breakaway and went to a backhand that nicked Bobrovsky’s pads and went in for a 3-0 lead. That was a huge goal.

Early in the third, Barkov got his goal when he blew by Foegle and tucked in a forehand past Skinner less than two minutes in.

The Panthers turned up the heat. They forechecked well and created some opportunities. Either Skinner made the save, or the Oilers blocked them.

Since Game 3, Sam Bennett hasn’t been heard from. He’s been one of the best Panthers during their run. He gets his nose dirty and makes things happen. Tkachuk has been a disappointment with only one goal in the series. Verhaeghe has no goals and struggled mightily. Even Sam Reinhart only has tallied once. He missed high and wide on a chance in the slot.

Even with the edge in play at five-on-five for over half the contest, the Panthers only mustered one goal on 21 shots. It’s a credit to how well the Oilers defended. They’ve made it hard for the Panthers to get shots through.

Knoblauch deserves a lot of credit for changing his team’s mindset. He’s emphasized defense and backchecking. He is one win away from going from coaching the Wolf Pack to taking the Oilers to a historic Cup in his first NHL coaching stint. The Rangers almost hired him last summer. But they eventually settled on Peter Laviolette. There are reasons why I won’t divulge.

Laviolette did a great job in his first season with the Blueshirts – guiding the Presidents’ Trophy winners to the Conference Finals. But he made a couple of mistakes that hurt their chances against the Panthers. That’s for another day.

This is about Knoblauch and what he’s trying to accomplish with the Oilers. Who would’ve thought that in a 5-1 victory on Friday night, McDavid would have no points. He wasn’t a factor. It was the play of the role players. Janmark. Henrique. Foegle. Brown. McLeod. Derek Ryan.

Edmonton is a completely different team under Knoblauch. They’ve proven it in how they’ve played. Knoblauch is a very calm presence. He doesn’t get too high or too low. Maybe that’s why he has the Oilers  in position to become the second team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the Cup. His players believe. They never panicked.

It was back in 1942 that the Toronto Maple Leafs became the only team in NHL history to rally back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings. That was 82 years ago.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox stunned the New York Yankees by winning four straight to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the pennant. They’d go on to win their first World Series since 1917. Comebacks from 0-3 down became possible. Since then, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers did it, and the 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings did it. Both played for the Cup. The Kings won it. The 1975 New York Islanders also pulled it off.

The Oilers are just the third NHL team to force a deciding Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. The Red Wings did it in 1945. They lost to the Maple Leafs. I guess they weren’t able to turn the tables on Toronto.

It’s hard to understand how these things happen. What are the Panthers thinking? A look at a few of their players’ faces last night. They looked shocked. Do they still believe they can win on Monday night? The game will be in their building. They’ve already blown three chances. Win Game 7, and they deliver the franchise’s first Cup. Maybe the extra day off will help.

The momentum is with the Oilers. They’ve already made history by reaching this point. Now, it has become about winning one more time. Can they complete the turnaround?

It’s hard to envision McDavid having another quiet game. He’s special. It’s his chance to deliver a Cup back to Edmonton. They last won in 1990 when Mark Messier led them to their fifth championship over seven years. Messier and Wayne Gretzky are legends. They’ll be watching like everyone else with anticipation.

Will the law of averages catch up with Skinner? That largely depends on which Panthers team shows up. They’ve had a lot of quiet performers who’ve gone cold at the wrong time. Even Gustav Forsling hasn’t been noticeable over the last two games.

There are sure to be a lot of subplots. Interest will be through the roof. We’re talking about history. Whether the Oilers complete the historic Cup or not, one team will be celebrating.