Oilers back in Final thanks to McDavid, 1st-round bounce-back

The Edmonton Oilers are going to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season and will try to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990.

The Oilers advanced by defeating the Dallas Stars 6-3 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday to win the best-of-7 series.

Edmonton also defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the Western Conference First Round and the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the second round.

It’ll be familiar territory for the Oilers on another front as they face the Florida Panthers for the second consecutive year in the Cup Final. The Oilers lost to the Panthers in seven games last season after losing the first three games. This will be the 11th time in League history that the Cup Final will feature the same teams as the previous year.

The Oilers (48-29-5) finished third in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Kings and nine points behind the Golden Knights. They will start the Cup Final at home because they finished the regular season with 101 points, three more than the Panthers, who had home ice last year.

Here are some of the highlights for the Oilers on the road to the Stanley Cup Final:

BEST MOMENT: Connor McDavid was in full Connor McDavid mode when he corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated away from Stars forward Roope Hintz (who’s fast but not McDavid-level fast) to score a breakaway goal and give the Oilers a 4-2 lead at 14:28 of the third period on Thursday. The Stars had gotten a goal from Hintz to get to within one about two minutes earlier. McDavid was once again making the big play at the right time.

TURNING POINT: The Oilers lost the first two games of the first round against the Kings and entered the third period of Game 3 trailing 4-3. It was all Edmonton from that point on. The Oilers scored four unanswered goals in the third period, starting with Evander Kane’s first of the playoffs at 13:18, to defeat the Kings 7-4. It got the Oilers going for the rest of the series and the playoffs. Starting that night, they are 12-2.

BEST MOVES MADE: Coach Kris Knoblauch put defenseman John Klingberg back into the Oilers lineup in Game 2 of the first round against the Kings, pairing him with Jake Walman. It’s worked out beautifully for the Oilers as Klingberg and Walman have been a great pair, especially in the absence of defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who played his first postseason game on Thursday. Sure, it was taking a risk. Klingberg had resurfacing surgery on each of his hips in December 2023, signed with the Oilers in January but sustained an infection after blocking a shot and only played in 11 regular-season games. But it’s worked and Klingberg’s return is one of the feel-good stories of this postseason.

BEST MOVES NOT MADE: There were a whole lot of penalty-kill questions lobbed at the Oilers heading into Game 2 of the conference final against the Stars after they allowed three Dallas power-play goals in the third period of Game 1. Did changes need to be made with personnel? Something up with the system? The Oilers left things alone and the penalty kill got back to, well, killing, going 8-for-10 in the past four games. The Oilers’ kill had a bad night, but it wasn’t broke, so they didn’t need to fix it.

SIGNATURE WIN (REGULAR SEASON): Let’s go with Edmonton’s 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 5 because it was the start of a very successful December, when the Oilers went 9-3-1. There was plenty to celebrate before the game, with Connor McDavid being honored for becoming the fourth-fastest player in NHL to reach 1,000 points. It was also a great return for Zach Hyman, who scored two goals after missing the previous five games with an undisclosed injury.

SIGNATURE WIN (PLAYOFFS): We’ll go back to the first round, and the Oilers’ 6-4 win against the Kings in Game 6. It was the fourth straight comeback win for the Oilers, who became the second team in NHL history to do that after trailing 2-0 in a best-of-7 series. The only other team to do it was the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche in 2021. Once again, it showed the mettle the Oilers had to get through the first round and it's been on display ever since.

MVP: That’s McDavid who, to the surprise of no one, leads all players in postseason scoring with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 16 games. Sure, a very strong honorable mention goes to Leon Draisaitl, who’s right behind him with 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 16 games, as these two continue to be the best 1-2 punch in the NHL. But McDavid is the best in the world for a reason. The speed, the moves, the production, it’s all been there once again for the Oilers captain.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Corey Perry continues to defy Father Time. The 40-year-old forward has seven goals, most by a player 39 or older (at the start of the playoffs) in a single postseason. He’s tied for the team lead in goals with Draisaitl. He has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in 16 games, including three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two. He had the opening goal, on the power play, in Game 5 and replaced Zach Hyman on the top line after Hyman was injured in Game 4. Perry’s off to his fourth Stanley Cup Final in the past six seasons, and he’s played a big part in Edmonton getting there.