City of believers: Edmonton ready for Oilers to bring home the Cup

As the minutes ticked down in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, thousands of Oilers fans rose to their feet.

As one, they sang Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer, they screamed Shania Twain's "Let's Go Girls" lyric and then, finally, they chanted "We want the Cup" over and over until the final buzzer rang.

The fervour continued outside: 104th Avenue was shut down in front of Rogers Place as thousands of people streamed across the road — screaming, shouting and high-fiving strangers.

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1, evening up a best-of-seven series that started with three losses for Edmonton. 

The Oilers have held off the Panthers' efforts to win that franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup, with three commanding wins in a row.

If the Oilers can win Game 7, it'll be a historic comeback.

And in a city that has remained devoted to its hockey team through decades of losses, being suddenly, improbably, so close to actually winning the Stanley Cup has Edmonton ready to boil over.

Make no mistake, a sold-out crowd in Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Fla., is also loud. 

On Monday, Panthers fans filled their home rink, roaring to life whenever the Florida team scored. It's a respectable amount of hype for a hockey team with an arena built on the edge of the Everglades.

But it just can't compare to the electrified, bone-shaking energy of a full Oilers' barn. 

When Warren Foegele put up the opening goal on Friday, the eruption inside Rogers Place was ear-splitting.

Outside the arena, the mood was just as bananas. When Zach Hyman scored the Oilers' third goal, the Moss Pit exploded — sprays of beer shot into the sky, and one young man in a white Oilers jersey briefly crowd-surfed over his fellow fans' heads. 

Some people —