Hockey fans in Edmonton, and many who are far, far away, are counting down the hours until the Oilers hit the ice this weekend for the beginning of their first Stanley Cup final series in nearly two decades.

Edmonton has been in party mode since the playoffs began April, and on Sunday night they beat the Dallas Stars to clinch the Cup berth.

After the win, Oilers fans in the Northwest Territories celebrated under the midnight sun with a cavalcade of 50 or more cars, trucks and ATVs driving up and down the gravel streets of Inuvik.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers goes Saturday.

The last time the Oilers won the Cup, the Panthers did not yet exist.