May 29, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

When asked about what makes the Edmonton Oilers so good in close out games before Game 5 on Thursday, Connor McDavid told the assembled media that “these are games that we get up for”. The Oilers had a chance to close out the Dallas Stars in Game 5, and they took advantage of the opportunity.  Jake Oettinger was pulled from the Stars net after failing to make a save on two Oilers shots. The Oilers got out to a 3-0 lead just over eight minutes into the game.

The Stars pulled within a goal, but the Oilers scored with 5:32 remaining in the middle frame to restore their two-goal lead heading into the final frame. The teams exchanged goals in the third period before the Oilers iced the game with an empty netter. The final score was 6-3 for the Oilers.

Callouts

It’s really hard to be too critical on a night your team advances to the Stanley Cup Final! The Stars pushed hard in the second and third periods after the Oilers got out to that early lead. That was expected, but that was also a lot of time spent playing in their own end. That’s all I’ll say about that tonight.

Standouts

McDavid has made some clutch plays in these playoffs. He added another legacy playoff moment to his resume in Game 5. The Stars were pushing hard in the second period, and the Oilers were on their heels until McDavid got a breakaway. He deked Casey DeSmith while absolutely flying with a Stars defender draped on his back, and he tucked in the goal that ended up being the game winner that sent the Oilers back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. McDavid also had an assist and three blocked shots. Captains lead, and that’s exactly what McDavid did tonight.

Shoutouts

Jeff Skinner played in just his second career playoff game in Game 5. Game 1 of the first round was his first career playoff game after 1,078 regular season games. Skinner scored his first career playoff goal in the first period to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead. He got the puck in the slot after a scramble, and he slid it underneath Oettinger. Skinner has been a consummate pro while dealing with being a healthy scratch in his first playoff run. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.

Jake Walman had two assists, four hits, and three blocked shots in 20:20 of ice time. He’s quietly put together a fantastic playoff run thus far. He and John Klingberg have made a tremendous pairing that has added depth and quality to the Oilers’ defence.

Leon Draisaitl had two points as well. His two assists put him in a tie for the series lead in points with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (who was held pointless for the first and only time in the series) and McDavid with nine points.

Mattias Ekholm made his return to the lineup after missing approximately two months of game action. He recorded an assist on McDavid’s game winning goal.

Someone needed to bring the physicality in Zach Hyman’s absence. That turned out to be Darnell Nurse, who recorded ten hits in Game 5.

Kris Knoblauch became the sixth coach in NHL history to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in his first two seasons as a head coach joining Toe Blake, Tommy Ivan, Scotty Bowman, Jimmy Skinner, and Punch Imlach. That company is the elite of the elite in NHL coaching. Congratulations to Knoblauch on that impressive accomplishment!

Wrap

McDavid talked about being excited about the opportunity in situations where they can close a team out, and the Oilers came out with that excitement when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They also showed a lot of maturity and poise by responding whenever the Stars inched a little bit closer. They did a lot of sitting back and defending; but the Oilers still managed to cash in on a couple of scoring plays while the Stars were charging, and they got the job done.

The Stars were considered to be a Stanley Cup favourite this season by many pundits. The Stars are a quality opponent that deserve praise for a strong season. The Oilers taking them out in five games is no small feat. That was a high quality series put forth by the Oilers.

The Oilers didn’t touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl when they won it last year, and they lost in the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid touched the trophy tonight, and Draisaitl carried to the dressing room excitedly. The Florida Panthers, who will face the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row, didn’t touch the Prince of Wales Trophy last year, and they didn’t touch it this year either. I don’t know if it matters or not, but the Oilers changed things up hoping for a different result this time around.

Last year, the @EdmontonOilers chose to not touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

This year, they're changing things up 👀 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/3YsRgKtBZM

— NHL (@NHL) May 30, 2025

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final goes June 4th from Rogers Place.

Related: Callouts, Standouts, and Shoutouts: Oilers put the Stars on the ropes with Game 4 win