Edmonton Oilers headed to Stanley Cup final with 2-1 win over Dallas Stars
CBC
For the Edmonton Oilers, the journey from worst to first in the Western Conference is complete — and a chance at the Stanley Cup is their reward.
Connor McDavid had a goal and assist in the opening period to get Edmonton going, Stuart Skinner stopped 34 shots for his hometown team and the Oilers capped an improbable run to the Stanley Cup final by beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Sunday night in Edmonton.
Zach Hyman also scored — like McDavid, on a first-period power play — and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers, who won the Western Conference in six games and will play for the Cup for the first time since 2006.
They'll be heading to Florida for Game 1 of the final series that starts Saturday. Games are scheduled to start 8 p.m. ET.
The Panthers are playing in the title series for the third time, after getting swept by Colorado in 1996 and losing to Vegas in five games last year.
"When the horn went off, that's the loudest I ever heard it," McDavid told Sportsnet amid the on-ice postgame celebration as Edmonton fans repeatedly chanted, "We want the Cup."
"Special place to play, honestly. So much history. And these fans, it was great to hear their support."
The Stars, just like the Rangers, let a 2-1 lead in the conference finals get away. Dallas scored five goals in Game 3 to take the series lead; the Stars managed four goals, total, in the next three games.
On Sunday, Mason Marchment scored midway through the third period and Jake Oettinger stopped eight shots for the Stars, who finished the regular season with the second-best record in the NHL: 113 points, just one behind the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.
Oettinger went to the bench with about 2:20 left in the game, but the Stars got only two shots the rest of the way — their desperate tries to tie the game and extend the series coming up short.
"Proud of our group. Proud of our fight. Proud of our battle," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're just gutted. They did leave everything out there."
Just by getting to the final, Edmonton has done something truly extraordinary — making the title series after finding itself 10 points out of a playoff spot during the regular season.
Entering games on Nov. 24, the Oilers were 5-12-1, which was 10 points back of Seattle and St. Louis for the final wild-card spot in the West and 19 points behind Vegas for the top spot in the conference.
Those days are long forgotten now.
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