And then there were two.
The Edmonton Oilers scored two goals on 10 shots, let the wild crowd scream Stuuuu instead of boo their resilient netminder, and served notice last night that they will be a tough out when they face the Rat Pack, a.k.a. Florida Panthers, for all the marbles starting on Saturday.
Here are five things to know about the NHL playoffs:
PLAY LA BAMBA, BABY!
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are headed to South Florida for the Stanley Cup final.
The Oilers, who got first-period power-play goals from Zach Hyman and McDavid, leaned on goalie Stuart Skinner to post a 2-1 series-clinching win in the Alberta capital last night.
The Oilers were outshot 35-10, including 12-3 in the first, and threatened Harry Houdini's claim to fame as the greatest-ever escape artist.
It's difficult to believe the Oilers, who beat the Stars in six games to claim the Clarence Campbell Bowl, started this season with a 3-9-1 record that prompted the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft in November.
Kris Knoblauch arrived in Edmonton for his first NHL head-coaching gig to find a highly-touted team in turmoil. Last night the "comeback" efforts were rewarded.
STARS COME UP SHORT, AGAIN
The Dallas Stars' superb season came to a crashing thud last night.
Despite dominating on the shots clock, the Stars again couldn't find the net. For the second year in a row their playoff season ended with a third-round loss in Game 6.
The team, which won the Western Conference regular-season title with 113 points — one less than the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers — had depth, strong goaltending in Jake Oettinger, veteran leadership and young talent, but couldn't solve the Oilers or, when it counted the most, stop their power play which went 2-for-2 last night, and 4-for-5 in the last two games.
SOME CATS AND RATS AND ELOQUENCE
Florida is best known for its beaches, theme parks, alligators and key lime pie.
You can add hockey trophies to the list, too.
With Saturday's 2-1 series-clinching win over the New York Rangers, the Florida Panthers kept the Prince of Wales Trophy in the Sunshine State for the fifth consecutive post-season.
The Panthers, back-to-back Eastern Conference champions, follow the East three-peat (2020-2022) by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And for those wondering, Panthers' coach Paul Maurice yelled at his players not to touch the trophy, likely wanting to save all their DNA for the Stanley Cup.
A RESTED DEVELOPMENT
The Florida Panthers will be the most-rested team in the Stanley Cup final.
The Panthers, who eliminated the top-seeded New York Rangers in six games have six days off before Game 1 of the championship series. The Oilers will have five, plus they have to use a day to travel 4, 100 kilometres to Sunrise for the June 8 puck drop.
The Panthers, who became the third team in NHL history to eliminate the Presidents' Trophy winner in consecutive seasons, are also the sixth different franchise in the past 30 years to advance to the Cup final in consecutive seasons.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
After Florida posted a 3-0 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final, the remaining five contests were each decided by a single goal as the Panthers and New York Rangers delivered one of the most tightly-contested conference final matchups in NHL history.
Game 6 was no different as the clubs were within a goal of each other for more than 50 minutes.
This report by ϳԹ was first published June 3, 2024.
