NHL

NHL: McDavid's goal in double overtime lifts Oilers to Game 1 win

By Sports Desk May 23, 2024

Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into double overtime and the Edmonton Oilers topped the Dallas Stars 3-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.

Evan Bouchard centered a pass into the low slot from the right boards and McDavid deflected it past Jake Oettinger for his third goal of the playoffs.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Dallas.

The Stars went scoreless on three power plays in regulation and failed to capitalize on four minutes with the man advantage after a high-stick penalty against McDavid early in the first overtime.

Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored in the second period to stake the Oilers to a 2-0 lead before Tyler Seguin drew the Stars within one les than two minutes later.

Edmonton held the slim lead until Seguin scored again with 3:23 left in regulation.

McDavid nearly won it with about 5:20 left in the first overtime, but his shot was blocked by Oettinger and defenseman Chris Tanev both putting their sticks down to keep the puck out of the net.

Dallas got 35 saves from Oettinger but lost it seventh straight playoff series opener. 

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    Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists and the Edmonton Oilers chased playoff MVP candidate Sergei Bobrovsky to extend their season and avoid a sweep with an 8-1 drubbing of the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

    Dylan Holloway scored twice with an assist and Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Ryan McLeod also had goals for the Oilers, who busted out in a big way after they were held to four goals in the first three games of the series.

    McDavid scored his first goal of the series, and his three assists gave him 32 to move past Wayne Gretzky (1988) for the most in a single postseason.

    Stuart Skinner had his best game of the Cup final with 32 saves.

    Bobrovsky was replaced by Anthony Stolarz after Nurse’s goal at 4:59 of the second period made it 5-1. He allowed five goals on 16 shots after yielding four goals on 86 shots in Games 1, 2 and 3.

    The Panthers can clinch the franchise’s first Stanley Cup at home in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

    Edmonton is bidding to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to erase a 3-0 series deficit at this stage of the playoffs.

    Janmark got the Oilers going with a short-handed goal 3:11 into the game and Henrique’s tally 3 1/2 minutes later upped the advantage.

    Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal put the Panthers on the board, but Holloway restored the two-goal lead with 5:12 left in the opening period.

    McDavid scored 73 seconds into the second period and Nurse’s goal sent Bobrovsky to the bench.

  • NHL: Panthers hold on to move within win of Stanley Cup title NHL: Panthers hold on to move within win of Stanley Cup title

    Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers held on for a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to take a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.

    Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers, who can wrap up the franchise’s first Stanley Cup title in Game 4 in Edmonton on Saturday night.

    Florida carried a 4-1 lead into the third period, but Philip Broberg scored at 6:02 and Ryan McLeod made it a one-goal game with 5:17 remaining.

    The Oilers, however, could not beat Sergei Bobrovsky again and now face the daunting task of trying to win four straight games to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993 – months before the Panthers’ inaugural season.

    Only four teams in league playoff history (1975 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings) have won a series after losing the first three games and only once in the final (1942 Toronto Maple Leafs).

    Bobrovsky finished with 32 saves to win his sixth straight start. He allowed more than two goals for the first time during that span.

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  • Panthers take 2-0 lead in Stanley Cup Final Panthers take 2-0 lead in Stanley Cup Final

    Evan Rodrigues had two of three Florida Panthers goals in the third period as the Eastern Conference champions took a 2-0 lead on the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final with Monday's 4-1 win.

    Niko Mikkola also scored and Aaron Ekblad had a game-sealing empty-net goal in the final minutes as the Panthers moved two wins away from the franchise's first Stanley Cup title.

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    Florida did sustain a key injury in Game 2, however, as captain and top-line centre Aleksandar Barkov did not return after taking an elbow to the head from Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl midway through the third period. 

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    Despite Florida owning a 22-7 shot advantage through the first two periods, the teams were locked in a 1-1 tie until Rodrigues stole an attempted clearing pass from Edmonton's Evan Bouchard in the Oilers' end and whistled a shot past goaltender Stuart Skinner 3:11 into the third.

    Rodrigues struck again on the power play created by Draisaitl's roughing penalty on Barkov with 9:28 remaining, as he redirected a pass from Anton Lundell into the Edmonton net for a 3-1 Florida lead with 7:34 left.

    Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Skinner for an extra attacker with under seven minutes to go, and the move gave Edmonton essentially a two-man advantage when Florida defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson received a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck into the stands with less than five minutes remaining.

    The Panthers killed off the infraction, however, then ended any hopes of an Edmonton comeback when Ekblad scored into the vacant net with 2:28 left to play.

    Florida had the game's first prime scoring opportunity when Oilers forward Warren Foegele received a five-minute major penalty and an ejection for a knee-to-knee hit on the Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen midway through the first period.

    The Panthers couldn't capitalise, however, and the sides were soon 4-on-4 when Ekman-Larsson was called for tripping during the extended power play.

    Just 19 seconds after Ekman-Larsson was sent off, Ekholm's shot on a 2-on-1 rush evaded Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to put Edmonton up 1-0 with 8:43 remaining in the opening period.

    Florida drew even midway through the second period when Mikkola fired a drop pass from Lundell past Skinner.

    Bobrovsky finished with 18 saves, while Skinner stopped 25 of 28 shots.

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