
NHL: Edmonton Oilers reach Stanley Cup Final
Stuart Skinner made first-period goals from Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman stand up by making 34 saves, and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years with Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars to win the Western Conference.
McDavid added an assist on Hyman's league-leading 14th goal of this year's post-season, while Evan Bouchard assisted on both Edmonton scores to help the Oilers oust Dallas in six games in the best-of-seven series and capture the Clarence Campbell Trophy for the first time since 2006.
Edmonton will meet the Florida Panthers in the Final, with Game 1 to take place Saturday in Florida. The Panthers won their second straight Eastern Conference title with Saturday's 2-1 win over the New York Rangers to also take that series in six games.
The Oilers have not hoisted the Stanley Cup since winning five titles in a seven-year span from 1984-90. The Panthers have never won the Cup since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1993-94.
BEST IN THE WEST
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 3, 2024
The #Oilers defeat the Stars 2-1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/KuMyN8FbMC
Dallas, meanwhile, lost in the West Final for the second consecutive year after falling to the eventual Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in six games last season. The Stars had a decisive 35-10 shot advantage in Game 6, but were kept off the scoreboard until Mason Marchment's goal midway through the third period.
The Stars outshot Edmonton by a 12-3 margin in the first period, but quickly fell behind shortly after defenseman Chris Tanev was called for a tripping penalty 3:35 in.
Edmonton needed just 42 seconds on the resulting power play to move ahead. McDavid skated deep into the Dallas zone, faked out a defender and lifted a backhand over the shoulder of Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger with 4:17 elapsed in the contest.
The Oilers converted another power-play chance awarded to them when Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter was called for slashing with 5:37 left in the first. McDavid found Hyman open in the slot and the standout sniper beat Oettinger stick-side with a wrist shot to extend the lead to 2-0 with 4:18 remaining in the period.
Skinner made nine more saves during a scoreless second period, but was unable to stop Marchment's close-range shot off a behind-the-net feed from Tyler Seguin that gave the Stars renewed life with 10:42 left to play.
Dallas pulled Oettinger with under 2 1/2 minutes left but was only able to get two shots on Skinner with the extra skater.
Oettinger recorded just eight saves and the Stars went 0 for 3 on the power play, while Edmonton converted both of its 5-on-4 attempts.











