For the first time since 1991 and 1992, the Edmonton Oilers will make consecutive appearances in the Conference Final.

Three weeks ago, many didn’t think that was likely after losing the first two games of the opening round in Los Angeles. Edmonton allowed 12 goals in those two games, but since then they found their defensive stride and won eight of their next nine games.

The Oilers outscored L.A. and Vegas 34-22 in their last nine games, and Stuart Skinner posted back-to-back shutouts to eliminate Vegas. Skinner joined Curtis Joseph and Cam Talbot as the only goalies in franchise history to post consecutive shutouts. Joseph owns the franchise record with five shutouts, and Skinner is now tied with Bill Ranford with three. Skinner is also the only goalie in NHL history who didn’t play in the first two games of a series, but posted two shutouts in the final two games of the series.

The Oilers’ defensive dominance started in Game 5 v. L.A.. The Kings created very little that game, and in Games 1, 4 and 5 of the Vegas series, the Oilers didn’t give up much, and when they did Calvin Pickard or Stuart Skinner made key saves.

The Oilers should feel proud of how well they played to dispatch Vegas in five games. Every element of the Oilers’ game was better.

Their top players produced more.

Their depth forwards produced more.

They were more physical.

They defended better.

They had better goaltending.

They didn’t rely on one element to win. Vegas actually had better special teams, but the Oilers’ 5×5 play won them the series. They outscored Vegas 14-7.

Edmonton had 10 different players score a goal 5×5 in the series and no player had more than two goals 5×5. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl still led in 5×5 points with six each, but they had 11 players with 2+ points and 15 skaters had at least one point. Meanwhile, Vegas only had five players score a goal and five had 2+ points. None of Vegas’ top-five goal scorers at 5×5 scored a goal in the series as Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl shot blanks.

This was the most dominant series win I think Edmonton has had in the past four seasons. It was a total team effort and as they wait to see if they play Dallas, again, or Winnipeg, this team should be very confident about their chances to return to the Stanley Cup Final.

QUICK HITS…

— Last night was the seventh time the Oilers played a playoff game with a 1-0 score. They are 5-2 in those games with two OT wins. Kasperi Kapanen joins Ryan Smyth (G5 @ DAL, 1997) as the two Oilers to score the OT goal and in a 1-0 victory. Both of their 1-0 losses occurred in OT. In 1998 v. Dallas and in 2021 against Winnipeg.

— Kapanen scored a double OT winner with the Maple Leafs on April 15th, 2017. He joins Draisaitl (two this year), McDavid (2 with EDM), Adam Henrique (2 with NJ) and Corey Perry (5, four with ANA, one with DAL) as current Oilers who have 2+ OT career winners. John Klingberg (DAL), Viktor Arvidsson (NSH), Evan Bouchard (EDM) and Hyman (EDM) each have one.

— Give Kris Knoblauch credit. His lineup chances after Game 3 worked out incredibly well. Kapanen scored the OT winner, but was also a physical force in Game 4. Troy Stecher played 16:31/game and at 5×5 he had a 16-9 SF-SA and a 1-0 GF-GA.

— Bouchard had a whale of a series. He posted a 9-2 GF-GA at 5×5 and had a 61.1SF%. He played 8:43 on the PK and was only on for one goal against. The entire PK improved as the series went on. He logged over 27 minutes a game and was sound defensively while adding five assists. Bouchard will be getting a big raise. His next deal will carry at least a $10m AAV. He has arbitration rights, and while I think it is very slim, he had a four-day window from July 1st to 4th, where he could get an offer sheet. I don’t see one coming, and then he will file for arbitration by the July 5th deadline.

For a third consecutive season, Bouchard has elevated his game in the playoffs. Over the past three seasons, he has led all D-men with 61 points in 48 games. Miro Heiskanen is second with 29. Cale Makar is third with 25 points in 24 games. Bouchard is third among all players in that span, trailing only Draisaitl and McDavid. This year, Bouchard has proven he can excel without playing with Mattias Ekholm. The only question is about his salary is when he and the Oilers will agree to a deal.

— Dallas will most likely be their opponent in the Conference Final. The Stars are good, but I don’t agree with those suggesting Dallas has more depth. The Oilers have scored 10 more 5×5 goals than Dallas through 11 games. The Stars’ PP has been deadly, but Mikko Rantanen has been carrying them offensively with 40% of their forwards’ 5×5 goals. The Stars have five forwards with 2+ goals at 5×5, while the Oilers have nine.

Dallas will be a tougher opponent than Vegas, but I don’t view them as the better team. Winnipeg has outplayed them for long stretches, but Connor Hellebuyck keeps letting them down with soft goals from distance.