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Edmonton Oilers advanced to their second straight Stanley Cup final as they defeated Dallas Stars 6-3 in Game 5 in the Western Conference Final at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday night.
Oilers will look for revenge against Florida Panthers after last season’s heartbreaking game 7 tab in the Stanley Cup final.
It took Edmonton a smaller game in this year’s Western Conference Final Rematch to send Dallas. Last season, the Oiler’s stars beat 4-2 in the western conference final before moving on.
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Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid poses with the Western Conference Championship Trophy at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Oilers drove out to an early lead on Thursday as they scored on their first two shots. Corey Perry and Mattias Janmark beat stars goalkeeper Jake Oettinger to give Edmonton a quick 2-0 lead.
Dalla’s head coach Peter Deboer did not spill time and pulled Oettinger from the game after he allowed the two goals. However, the switch to backup goalkeeper Casey Desmith did not produce much better results.
Edmontons Jeff Skinner beat Desmith for a goal just after replacing Oettinger and giving Oilers a 3-0 lead with his first goal for the playoffs.
The stars managed to cut the lead to 3-2, but Connor McDavid scored a beautiful outbreak goal to make the game 4-2 and move the momentum back towards Oilers.
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Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid Deks Dallas Stars goalkeeper Casey Desmith during the second period in Game 5 in the Western Conference Final at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Stars Frem Jason Robertson scored to make it 4-3, but the Oilers tip Evander Kane replied with a goal of regaining Oilers’ two-goal lead. Edmonton’s Kasperi Kapanen made the last mark on the victory with an empty goal as the time was running to make it 6-3.
This is the third season in a row that the stars have lost in the western conference final.
“You have to continue knocking on the door,” Deboer said. “We chased every single game in this series, and it’s a tough way to play hockey against this team. That was the story of the whole series, but the fourth goal, Connor’s goal … Puck jumps into the neutral zone he gets out of the bench, he’s not missing it. It’s the game.”
At Oilers’ celebration after the game, McDavid made sure to touch Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, the trophy awarded to the Western Conference Master; Last year he chose superstitious not to touch it, but they continued to lose in the Stanley Cup final.
Edmonton Oilers Right Wing Corey Perry, right, celebrates with Center Connor McDavid after scoring in the first period of Game 5 in the Western Conference Final at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
“It’s pretty obvious, I think,” McDavid said of what was different from the end of last year’s Western Conference Final. “Don’t touch the last year you don’t win. Stir by it this year, hopefully we’ll win.”
In the last season’s Stanley Cup final, Oilers drew almost one of the most unlikely comebacks in sports history. Edmonton fell behind 3-0 in the series, but fought back to force a game 7, which they eventually lost 2-1.
Game 1 in the Stanley Cup final begins Wednesday at. 20 et.
