Edmonton Oilers reach Stanley Cup Final with Game 6 victory against Dallas Stars
The Edmonton Oilers are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the Connor McDavid era, and the team captain played a huge role in making it happen in clinching Game 6.
McDavid had a highlight-reel goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday night that earned the Oilers their first trip to the championship round since 2006.
They will face the Florida Panthers in the best-of-seven series, starting Saturday night in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers, back in the Final for the second consecutive season, are seeking their first Stanley Cup title. The Oilers have five championships and last won in 1990.
"It feels great to be in this position," McDavid told reporters. "This was always part of the plan, and it feels good to be here today."
McDavid has been the NHL's best player since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2015 and is a three-time winner of the Hart Trophy. But the farthest he has reached in the playoffs previously was the Oilers being swept in the 2022 conference final.
The Oilers broke through during a season in which they started 3-9-1, fired coach Jay Woodcroft and hired Kris Knoblauch. They turned their season around with a 16-game winning streak, and McDavid joined rare company with an 100-assist season. McDavid leads all playoff scorers with 31 points.
Here's how the Oilers won Game 6 and what's next for them and the Stars:
How the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars in Game 6
McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 4:17 of the first period with a spectacular goal. He took a pass on the power play, stickhandled between Sam Steel and Miro Heiskanen and roofed a shot past Stars goalie Jake Oettinger.
"There's only one player in the world that can make things like that happen," teammate Leon Draisaitl said.
McDavid helped add to the lead when he fed Zach Hyman on the power play. Hyman scored his league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs.
The Oilers emerged from the first period with a 2-0 lead despite being outshot 12-3.
The Stars continued to press in the second period with Roope Hintz hitting the post.
The Oilers killed a delay of game penalty to Draisaitl in the third period, but Dallas' Mason Marchment soon after cut the Stars' deficit to 2-1 at 9:18.
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner finished with 34 saves for the victory in a game in which Edmonton was outshot 35-10.
"We're on a plane to Dallas if not for Stu," McDavid said.
The Oilers didn't touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl awarded to the Western Conference champion. The Panthers didn't touch the Prince of Wales Trophy on Saturday, either.
What's next for the Edmonton Oilers?
They will open on the road against the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. But they have won the past two rounds without having home-ice advantage and won Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks on the road.
The Panthers won the season series 2-0.
The Oilers have four power-play goals in their last two games after none in the first four games against the Stars. That will be a plus against a Panthers team that allowed only one power-play goal against the New York Rangers. But Edmonton also has been excellent at penalty killing, perfect in its last 10 games.
The matchup of Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and McDavid should be fun to watch.
What's next for the Dallas Stars?
They have fallen in the Western Conference final for the second consecutive season.
"You could probably argue that it was our best game of the series," captain Jamie Benn said. "It just didn't go our way."
Trade deadline acquisition Chris Tanev played a big role in their playoff run and is an unrestricted free agent.
So is Joe Pavelski, 39. Does the all-time leading U.S.-born playoff goal scorer return for another season or retire?
"I don't know if it will be Joe's last game or not, but an absolute privilege of my coaching career to coach a guy like that," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said.
The UFA list also includes Matt Duchene, who scored 25 goals this season after being bought out by the Nashville Predators, backup goalie Scott Wedgewood and defenseman Jani Hakanpaa.
Defenseman Thomas Harley is their key restricted free agent.