For the Edmonton Oilers, the journey from worst to first in the Western Conference is complete, and a chance at the Stanley Cup is their reward.
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in the opening period to get Edmonton going, Stuart Skinner stopped 34 shots for his hometown team and the Oilers capped an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final by beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Sunday night.
Zach Hyman also scored — like McDavid, on a first-period power play — and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers, who won the Western Conference final in six games and are to play for the Cup for the first time since 2006.
Photo: AFP
They are heading to the Florida Pantehrs for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final which starts on Saturday night. At 4,088km between Edmonton and Sunrise, Florida, it is the longest distance between Stanley Cup Final opponents in NHL history.
“When the horn went off, that’s the loudest I ever heard it,” McDavid told Sportsnet amid the on-ice post-game celebration as Edmonton fans chanted “We want the Cup.”
“Special place to play, honestly. So much history, and these fans, it was great to hear their support,” McDavid said.
Mason Marchment scored midway through the third period and Jake Oettinger stopped eight shots for the Stars, who finished the regular season with the second-best record in the NHL — 113 points, just one behind the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
However, the Stars, just like the Rangers, let a 2-1 lead in the conference finals get away. Dallas scored five goals in Game 3 to take the series lead, and the Stars managed four goals, total, in the next three games.
“I would probably argue that was our best game of the series,” Stars forward Jamie Benn said. “Didn’t go our way.”
Oettinger went to the bench with about two minutes, 20 seconds to go, but the Stars got only two shots the rest of the way, their desperate tries to tie the game and extend the series coming up short.
“Proud of our group, proud of our fight, proud of our battle,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “You’re just gutted. They did leave everything out there. We should be going to play a Game 7, we’re not. You have to give Edmonton credit. Their power play particularly over the last two games was good, their goaltender was good. It’s fine lines when you get to this point of the year, and they were on the right side of it... It’s tough to swallow.”
Just by getting to the Cup final, Edmonton have done something truly extraordinary — making the title series after finding themselves 10 points out of a playoff spot during the regular season. Entering games on Nov. 24 last year, the Oilers were 5-12-1, 10 points behind the Seattle Seattle Kraken and the St Louis Blues for the final wild-card spot in the West and 19 points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the conference.
Those days are long forgotten now.
That’s when the Oilers went on an eight-game winning streak and began the long climb out of the NHL’s basement.
Now, the final awaits. Much like the Panthers on Saturday night, the Oilers did not touch the conference championship trophy in the post-game celebration. It is the bigger trophy that they’re seeking.
“We’re not done here. This is just one step in the right direction for us,” Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm said.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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