Instant Reaction +16.0: Oilers eliminate Stars with 6-3 win in Game 5 of Western Conference Final

Edmonton made it a 2-0 game just over seven minutes into the first period, as Jake Walman made a terrific outlet pass to Viktor Arvidsson at the Stars’ blue line. The Swede one-touch passed to a streaking Mattias Janmark for the breakaway. Janmark in the regular season dumps this in the corner, but this is playoff Janmark, meaning he went five-hole to make it a 2-0 game.

Oettinger was chased out of the game after Janmark’s goal, but the Oilers didn’t stop. After an offensive zone faceoff win, there was a scramble in front of the Stars’ net, with Jeff Skinner finding the back of the net for his first career postseason goal to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead just over nine minutes into the game.

The Stars’ pushback was to be expected. With about eight and a half minutes left in the first, Brett Kulak attempted to fire the puck through three Stars, which was almost immediately knocked down. A quick pass to Jason Robertson and the Stars had life.

Dallas dominated the second period, and after a few minutes of consistent zone pressure, Roope Hintz scored with about seven and a half minutes left.

It looked as if the Stars were going to tie it, but just two minutes later, the Oilers restored their two-goal lead. Mattias Ekholm blocked a shot, which landed in the neutral zone to a streaking Connor McDavid for a breakaway. The greatest player of all time made a beautiful move, beating Scott Wedgewood for the 4-2 lead.

It took just 38 seconds in the third for the Stars to make it a one-goal game again. On a zone entry, Mikko Rantanen found Robertson on the weak side. With a quick snap of the wrist, he beat Stuart Skinner five-hole with a whole lot of game left.

But once again, the Oilers were able to restore the two-goal lead. After the Stars had sustained zone time, the Oilers finally corralled the puck, with Jake Walman passing to Draisaitl. Eventually, the puck found its way to Evander Kane, who attempted to centre it. Fortunately, it bounced off the skate of a Star and into the back of the net. Kasperi Kapanen iced the game with an empty-netter with 11 seconds left.

Takeaways…

When the Oilers have a chance to eliminate a team before Game 7, they are now 8-0 in the Connor McDavid era. In Game 7s, they are 2-2 since drafting McDavid.

Coming into this game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had at least two points in each of the first four games to match a Conference Finals record. Unfortunately, he was unable to break the record as he was held pointless.

Mattias Ekholm returned to the lineup to play a full game for the first time since March 26. As you’d expect, he played the fewest number of minutes for any Oiler defencemen at 15:52. He picked up an assist and was a +2.

Due to Ekholm’s return, Troy Stecher was bumped from the lineup, meaning Darnell Nurse was paired with Brett Kulak. They were on the ice for two of the goals (one on the penalty kill), with the first goal being an especially bad turnover by Kulak. Despite that, Kulak finished with a game-high plus-three rating.

Corey Perry has been fantastic this postseason, potting his seventh goal of the playoffs to bring him to a team lead with Leon Draisaitl. He was flying in this game as well. Please re-sign him if he wants to play another season.

Jeff Skinner played his second postseason game in his career after playing 1,078 regular-season games. In the first period, he scored his first career postseason goal. That’s what hockey is all about. Skinner became the 19th player for the Oilers to score a goal this postseason, more than the 18 they had last postseason.

That said, the third line as a whole was the worst line in this game, as they faced sustained zone pressure numerous times in the game. One of those times was in the second period before they took the penalty that led to the Stars’ second goal.

On the other hand, the Oilers’ best line was their fourth line. Mattias Janmark scored his third of the postseason, Viktor Arvidsson picked up an assist and had his best game as an Oiler, and Vasily Podkolzin had five hits in just 11:36.

Evander Kane scored an insurance goal in the third period. He became the eighth Oiler to score five or more goals this postseason. There are three other players in reach of this mark: Adam Henrique (four), Kasperi Kapanen (three), and Mattias Janmark (three). The Oilers have the record for the most five-goal scorers, with 10 set in the 1990 postseason, according to the broadcast.

Speaking of hits, the Oilers finished with 47 hits to the Stars’ 43. There’s a Zach Hyman-sized hole in terms of the hit department, and it was Kasperi Kapanen who led the team with seven hits (and a goal). The 40-hit mark is what they were averaging this postseason.

Stuart Skinner wasn’t the best in this game, saving 14 of 17 shots for an .824 save percentage. The third goal should’ve been saved, but he made numerous big stops in the second period when the Stars had all their pressure. 

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is on Wednesday, June 4, in Edmonton. It’s a rematch of last season’s final, and hopefully it goes the Oilers’ way this time.