June 4, 2024 by Eric Friesen

From the moment the Edmonton Oilers won the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery and earned the right to select 18-year-old phenom Connor McDavid first-overall, it seemed inevitable that he would eventually lead the orange and blue to a Stanley Cup.

Just over nine years after NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed the Oilers as the winners of that prized lottery selection, he was on the ice at Rogers Place to congratulate McDavid on captaining his club to the game’s grandest stage. Nine years is a long time to wait for the best player in the world to have his first opportunity to play for the Cup. For the extremely loyal and passionate fans in Oil Country, the wait has been twice as long.

McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored power-play goals in the first period and Stuart Skinner turned aside 34 of the 35 shots he faced to lead the Oilers to a 2-1 win on Sunday. With the victory, the Oilers claimed their NHL-record eighth Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champions (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006 and 2024).

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the 18,347 fans in attendance dressed in orange and blue erupted in celebration of the Oilers reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 18 years. While it’s unquestionably the most significant victory of McDavid’s NHL career (and most significant victory for the Oilers’ organization in nearly two decades), sharing the moment with the passionate fans in Oil Country made it even more special for him.

“It feels like a dream, honestly,” McDavid told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas following the Oilers’ Game 6 victory on Sunday. “When the horn went off, that’s the loudest I’ve ever heard [Rogers Place]. A special place to play, honestly. There’s so much history here. These fans, it’s great to hear their support.”

Keeping with recent tradition in the NHL, McDavid and the Oilers chose not to touch the Campbell Bowl during the trophy presentation at Rogers Place. This group has a greater goal in mind.

McDavid leads Oilers to the Final in spectacular fashion

Right from puck-drop in Game 6, McDavid was on another level than every other player on the ice, flying through the neutral zone with the puck and dangling opponents like only he can. After suffering through a string of playoff heartbreaks, McDavid had zero interest in going back to Dallas for Game 7.

The Oilers captain tallied two terrific power-play points in the opening frame, including the most spectacular goal of his playoff career. Despite being the primary focus of the Stars’ penalty killers, McDavid pulled off an unbelievable toe-drag move to weave through Sam Steel and Miro Heiskanen, before roofing a perfectly placed backhand shot past Jake Oettinger to give the Oilers an early 1-0 lead.

It was the type of goal you’re more likely to see in a video game than in an actual NHL playoff game. Leon Draisaitl, who picked up an assist on McDavid’s power-play marker, said it’s not the first time he’s seen McDavid score a goal like that under heavy pressure.

“Yeah, I was nice,” Draisaitl said jokingly when asked about McDavid’s goal. “I’ve seen it before, but yeah, it was nice. There’s one player in the world that can make plays like that and make things like that happen. I don’t know what to say. He knows what I think of him. I think everybody does, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

With the power-play goal, McDavid joined Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Mario Lemieux and Nikita Kucherov as the only players in NHL history with multiple 30-point playoff years. All five of the players who did it previously, won the Cup the second time they hit the 30-point mark, a trend McDavid will look to continue this month. Even more remarkably, McDavid joined Gretzky as the only player to ever reach the 30-point mark prior to the Stanley Cup Final.

Related: Connor McDavid scores the game-winner as Oilers prevail in double overtime

When they were given a second opportunity with the man-advantage later in the period, McDavid drew two Stars’ players to him along the wall, and then found Hyman alone in the slot, who wired a shot into the top corner to make it 2-0 for the Oilers. With the helper on Hyman’s league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs, McDavid reached double-digits in points for the fourth series in his past five (he had nine points in seven games against the Canucks in the last round).

Though he easily could have had more than two points in Game 6, McDavid gave the Oilers all the offence they needed to beat the Stars. He was determined to win — whatever it took to make it happen.

Record-setting penalty kill

When you hear the term “Oilers hockey,” the first thought that many hockey observers will have is a highly-skilled, fast-paced style of play that results in a ton of goals off the rush and on the power-play. It was true for the Gretzky and company during the glory days in the 1980s, and it’s still the case for the current Oilers’ squad.

In fact, the Oilers set NHL records for power-play efficiency in both the regular season (32.4%) and playoffs (46.2%) last year. And while Edmonton’s power-play in the 2024 playoffs is clicking at an outstanding 37.3%, it’s been their penalty kill dominance that’s mainly helping them win games.

So, for the Oilers to transform into a shot-suppressing, mistake-limiting team that excels on the penalty kill over the past month, surely isn’t something that anyone who follows this team closely saw coming. Although the penalty kill has vastly improved under Head Coach Kris Knoblauch, he insists that he doesn’t deserve the praise for its success.

Related: Oilers Penalty Killing Revival

“I’m not taking any credit on this penalty kill, it’s not my responsibility, it’s Mark Stuart who’s done a tremendous job on that,” said Knoblauch in his post-game media availability on Sunday. “I wasn’t sure [if he was ready to take on that task at first]. I didn’t know Mark. He’d never run the penalty kill, and I didn’t know him as a coach. I knew he was fairly green and hadn’t been doing this very long, but there weren’t many options, and we gave him that responsibility and he has done a fabulous job with it. I don’t think we would be here today if our penalty kill hadn’t been as strong as it has been through each series.”

The Oilers set a new franchise record for consecutive penalties killed, with 28, including a critical delay of game penalty on Draisaitl early in the third period of Game 6. This was also the second playoff series this year where the Oilers didn’t allow a single power-play goal.

Skinner shines in series-clinching victory

While McDavid led the way offensively, Stuart Skinner was Edmonton’s most valuable player in Game 6 (and very likely the series). The Oilers were badly outshot 35-10 against a desperate Stars team fighting to stay alive, but Skinner delivered an outstanding performance, earning a third straight win over the top-seed in the Western Conference.

In the spring of 2006, Skinner watched his childhood hero Dwayne Roloson backstop the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in one of the greatest Cinderella runs in NHL history. Fast forward 18 years, and Roloson was in the building on Sunday night to watch Skinner help the Oilers reach the Final.

“If you told me this five or six years ago, I’d probably tell you’re crazy,” said Skinner on Sunday. “But honestly, moments like this, it’s really hard to say. It’s very cool and it’s a lot more than cool, but it’s very exciting and I’m very fortunate and grateful to be a part of such an amazing club.”

Since Game 6 of the Oilers’ second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks, Skinner has been exceptional in goal for his hometown team. The 25-year-old has a 6-2 record with a .919 save percentage during that span, and allowed two or fewer goals in six of his last eight games.

“First off, he was unbelievable tonight. We’re not sitting up here talking about a win if it wasn’t for him,” said McDavid. “We’re on a plane to Dallas if it wasn’t for Stu. He’s gone through lots. He’s still such a young goalie, but he’s gone through so much. “I keep saying this – a lot of people doubted him. A lot of people don’t say the nicest things about him, but he is an elite goaltender in this League. He really is and he showed that tonight. He showed that over the course of the year in the playoffs. He loves proving people wrong, and he certainly did that.”