Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner speaks out on the added pressure of representing a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals

Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner spoke about the added pressure of representing a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers.

With the Oilers being the last Canadian team standing, they carry the hopes of a nation eager to see the Stanley Cup return to Canada for the first time since 1993.

Before Game 1 on Wednesday, Skinner acknowledged that the entire country is watching him and his team.

"It's a little bit tougher because it's a Canadian market," Skinner said, via ESPN. "All of Canada's watching you. All of Canada's disappointed in you."

Edmonton pulled off a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1. This year’s Stanley Cup Final is a rematch of last season’s clash, where the Oilers fell short in seven games.

Skinner admitted that he has already buried the emotions from last year's loss.

"Definitely," Skinner said. "Internally, there was something buried. That's kind of an easy way to do it, instead of thinking about it and trying to process it. I stuffed it down."

Skinner believes last year’s run gave the team a sense of what to expect this time around. He added that there’s a different energy now, with everyone in the locker room more prepared — especially after living through the toughest outcome of all: a Game 7 loss.

The Oilers will look to take a 2-0 series lead on Friday in Edmonton.

Last year's Game 7 still drives Stuart Skinner in this year’s Stanley Cup final

A few weeks after the last year's Stanley Cup Finals defeat, Stuart Skinner shared that he went back and watched the Oilers' 2-1 loss in Game 7. He also admitted that he’s not sure why he did it.

"I'm not too sure why," Skinner said on Wednesday, via ESPN. "Maybe for a little motivation. Maybe to get the emotions out of it."

This experience embodies Skinner's mentality. He processes adversity, channels those emotions into fuel for self-improvement.

"A lifetime of hardships, a lifetime of moments of success," Skinner said. "All the things you experience and you think it's the end of the world. You get a choice to make in that moment: to either get up or to give up."

Skinner added that he always believes persistence leads to success and that mindset is something anyone can embrace.