DALLAS — Improbably, almost impossibly, the Dallas Stars had scratched and clawed their way back into Game 5 of the Western Conference final.
They had shockingly benched their all-world goaltender, Jake Oettinger, after two quick goals. They had fallen behind by three goals 58 seconds after that. They had looked overwhelmed, overmatched and, well, over. But then Jason Robertson scored for Dallas, and American Airlines Center had a pulse again. And by the time Roope Hintz scored a power-play goal at 12:27 of the second period, it was the Oilers who were on their heels, getting bullied and overrun shift after shift after shift. Stuart Skinner was doing all he could to maintain a one-goal lead, but the equalizer seemed inevitable. Dallas was rocking, Edmonton was reeling.
Then, Connor McDavid happened.
McDavid shifted into warp speed, pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone off a Mattias Ekholm blocked shot, fended off a valiant defensive attempt by Hintz, settled the bouncing puck and beat Casey DeSmith with a full-speed backhand-to-forehand move to cut out the Stars’ heart and restore the Oilers’ two-goal lead. They beat the Stars 6-3 to return to the Stanley Cup Final.
It’s Edmonton-Florida, Part II, starting June 4 at Rogers Place.
The Panthers won last year’s matchup in unforgettable fashion, racing out to a 3-0 series lead before the Oilers rallied to force a Game 7, only to fall short in South Florida. The ruthless, physical Panthers will get an Oilers squad at full strength, with Ekholm back on the back end, Skinner emphatically taking back his net from Calvin Pickard, and both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on top of their games.
Earning that rematch looked like it would be easy early on in Game 5, but it was anything but. Even after McDavid’s goal made it 4-2 late in the second, Dallas responded. Robertson — invisible for the entire Winnipeg series and the first two games of this one — scored his second of the game and fourth in the last three games off a three-on-two in the opening minute of the third period to draw Dallas back within one. But Evander Kane banked a puck off Esa Lindell’s skate and past a bewildered DeSmith less than three minutes later to restore the two-goal lead.
GO FURTHER
Oilers ride fast start to Game 5 win, return to Stanley Cup Final: Takeaways
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