The Edmonton Oilers did not advance past the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. After defeating the Dallas Stars 3-1 on the road on Friday, they are just one victory away from making a comeback. Philip Broberg scored his first-ever playoff goal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on the power play, Stuart Skinner made 19 saves, and the Oilers took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final.
The Oilers will attempt to wrap off the series at home on Sunday night. Captain Connor McDavid, who helped set up Nugent-Hopkins’ first power-play goal, stated, “It’ll take our best effort.” “There’s a reason it’s four wins. Getting four wins against a club in the playoffs is a difficult feat in and of itself.
They’re a fantastic group over there and will react. All you need is a carbon duplicate of Friday’s show to work. Edmonton performed as flawlessly as could be anticipated at this point in the playoffs, limiting the Stars to only 10 shots on goal in the opening two periods.
The tone was established by Nugent-Hopkins’ two man-advantage markers, which were the first power-play goals by either club in this series. At 14:09 of the first period, the guy who has played for Edmonton the longest—the 2011 first overall draft pick—chimed a backhanded rebound attempt into the cage to start the scoring. With a shot that bounced off the post and in, Nugent-Hopkins extended the advantage just 66 seconds into the second half, his sixth goal of the playoffs. “He’s been my favorite ever since I was a young buck,” remarked Skinner. “I was that kid who went, ‘Nuuuuge,’ when she saw him on TV. I’ve always thought highly of him, and his abilities are truly astounding. He is in charge for a purpose,
he’s such a good player, such a good two-way player, and does everything right.”
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