In the summer of 2023, Oilers’ superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid had their famous quotes: “It’s Cup or bust.” Well, after Sunday night’s 2-1 victory in Game 6, the Edmonton Oilers are four wins away from their goal, and the Dallas Stars fall in the Conference Final for the second year in a row.
It took two first-period power play goals. It took 34 saves by Stuart Skinner. It took three killed penalties. It took a fierce defensive performance in the dying moments of the third. It took everything, plus all 60 minutes. Connor McDavid and the Oilers are heading to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Will they win it all this season?
Stuart Skinner Saves His Best For Last For Oilers
We can talk about Connor McDavid, and we will. We can talk about Zach Hyman and Draisaitl, and we will. But after getting the 2-0 lead after the first period, including the Oilers’ first shot of the game, goaltender Stuart Skinner played arguably his best game as an Edmonton Oiler and not a moment too late.
After Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks, Skinner was benched for backup goalie Calvin Pickard. Since his return in Game 6 of the same series, he is 6-2, allowing three goals or more only twice in that stretch.
In Games 4 and 5, he wasn’t tested all that much. In Game 6 however, the Stars put on a clinic, getting 35 shots on net, and another 19 that the Oilers blocked.
In the second and third periods, the Oilers spent the majority of it in their own end. Edmonton has been known to build a lead, then sit back and protect it. But this didn’t feel like that. The Stars were desperate, and they played like it.
In a playoffs where the pressure of the media and the fanbase was crashing down on him, Skinner deserves all the praise in the world. Even though the job is not done yet, he put in the work to bounce back and do his part to send his team to the finals.
The Most Bizarre Full Team Effort Ever
If I told you that a team with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard got only 10 shots on net, you would call me crazy. If I told you they won the said game, you would call me crazy. That is exactly what happened on Sunday night, and they found a way to seal the deal.
A lot has been made about the lack of depth on this Oilers team, including from the analysts at Total Apex Sports. The truth is, in a game with a Cup Final on the line, it had to be the stars being stars, and that’s exactly what happened.
McDavid had their first shot on goal during a power play early in the first period, which opened the scoring for the Oilers and the game. Just over ten minutes later, on the power play again, McDavid threw a perfect pass to Hyman, who scored the eventual game-winning goal.
For the next 45 minutes, the Dallas Stars poured it on. As much, the ten shots on goal for Edmonton are a tad concerning, and enough cannot be said about the defensive effort this team put forth. In total, the Oilers had 17 blocked shots, 17 takeaways, and they were perfect, yet again, on the penalty kill.
Those three penalty kills made it 28 straight kills, which is a Stanley Cup Playoffs record.
The last factor that isn’t talked about too much, is Coach Kris Knoblauch. In September, he was getting prepared for a long and grueling season in the AHL. Less than a year later, and with many tough decisions throughout the spring, he is getting prepared for the Stanley Cup Finals.
Another Chance Slips Away For Dallas
On the Dallas side of things, this is another missed opportunity, and it may sting more than the last.
In the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the Dallas Stars went down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights before eventually losing the series 4-2.
That one hurts, of course. But this year, they were up 2-1 in the series and were unable to win another game.
Through three games, the depth was firing on all cylinders, and Jake Oettinger was red hot. Five minutes into Game 4, the Stars were up 2-0, and the Oilers looked shell-shocked. Well, 20 minutes later the game was tied, and Edmonton didn’t look back.
On Sunday, the Stars threw everything they had at their opponent and it wasn’t enough. Mason Marchment scored halfway through the third to bring the game within one. The Stars turned up the pressure from there, but when a goalie is hot, he’s hot.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong for Dallas. Through each moment you can point to not enough scoring, poor defensive plays in certain moments, or maybe some weak goals that got by Oettinger.
Game 5 specifically will be a game that sticks in the minds of the Stars players. They were outplayed from start to finish and could never find a rhythm at home in a crucial game that swung the momentum in this series. As much as losing Game 6 will be remembered by the fans, for the players Game 5 was the one that sunk their hopes to reach that next level.
When it’s all said and done, the Edmonton Oilers played an incredible three games of defensive hockey, and on Sunday, Stuart Skinner flat-out stole this game.
Quick Look Ahead For the Oilers
The Stanley Cup Finals start Saturday, June 8, at 8:00 pm EST in Florida, as the Oilers head 4,089 kilometers south to begin their quest to be the first Canadian team to raise the trophy since 1993.
These two teams met on November 20 and January 16, with the Panthers winning both, outscoring the Oilers 10-6.
Both teams have been through a lot since then, but it’s safe to say the Oilers are the ones who have faced and overcome the most adversity.
The Panthers beat the Lightning 4-1 in Round 1, the Bruins 4-2 in Round 2, and the President’s Trophy-winning New York Rangers 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Oilers beat the Kings 4-1, then two division winners in a row. First, the Canucks in seven, and of course, the Stars in six.
McDavid vs Barkov, Draisaitl vs Reinhart, Skinner vs Bobrovsky. The storylines are aplenty, and they will only build in the long week ahead, as we wait for the start of the Stanley Cup Finals.
For More Sports News:
Click here for a more in-depth analysis of every series this NHL post-season from Marc Sautter and others, plus what’s happening around the league.
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
About The Author
Marc Sautter is a self-proclaimed sports addict, with the NHL being his specialty. After being a sports fan from afar, Marc made a career change in his 30s to cover sports through journalism and podcasting. His daily NHL preview and betting show “Pucks Across Borders” airs every weekday morning. In addition to hockey, you can read his work on the Canadian Football League all summer on Total Apex Sports.
