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.

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.

The Panthers showed no ill effects from waiting to fly from South Florida to Alberta, a decision that was questioned when their plane was delayed by storms and got in a few hours late Wednesday – less than 24 hours before puck drop.

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.

They did so by keeping Connor McDavid and Edmonton's high-powered offence in check for a second straight meeting. After being dealt a 3-0 loss in Saturday's opener of the best-of-seven series, the Oilers managed just seven shots on goal over the first two periods of Game 2 and 19 for the night.

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. 

Mattias Ekholm recorded the lone goal for the Oilers, who will attempt to reverse momentum on home ice when the series shifts to Edmonton for Thursday's Game 3.

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.

Sergei Bobrovsky continued his red-hot play with 32 saves and Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues scored to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

Bobrovsky was the story as the Oilers outshot the Panthers 32-17. He turned in one of the most memorable playoff goaltending performances in recent history, denying multiple breakaways and even managed to make saves without his stick for 30 seconds.

Over his last four playoff games, the 35-year-old Bobrovsky has stopped 101 of 106 shots for a .953 save percentage.

Three-time MVP Connor McDavid, who leads all scorers in the postseason with 31 points, led all skaters with six shots but couldn’t beat the Russian goaltender.

Thanks to him, the Panthers have a lead in the Cup final for the first time in franchise history and are three wins away from their first championship.

Eetu Luostarinen scored into an empty net with five seconds remaining, but that insurance goal was hardly needed the way Bobrovsky played.

Game 2 is Tuesday in Florida.

The goals by Verhaeghe and Rodriguez came on the first five shots against Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner, who wasn't to blame for either one.  

The Oilers were shut out in the playoffs for the first time since June 2, 2022, against Colorado.

Stuart Skinner made first-period goals from Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman stand up by making 34 saves, and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years with Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars to win the Western Conference.

McDavid added an assist on Hyman's league-leading 14th goal of this year's post-season, while Evan Bouchard assisted on both Edmonton scores to help the Oilers oust Dallas in six games in the best-of-seven series and capture the Clarence Campbell Trophy for the first time since 2006.

Edmonton will meet the Florida Panthers in the Final, with Game 1 to take place Saturday in Florida. The Panthers won their second straight Eastern Conference title with Saturday's 2-1 win over the New York Rangers to also take that series in six games.

The Oilers have not hoisted the Stanley Cup since winning five titles in a seven-year span from 1984-90. The Panthers have never won the Cup since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1993-94.

Dallas, meanwhile, lost in the West Final for the second consecutive year after falling to the eventual Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in six games last season. The Stars had a decisive 35-10 shot advantage in Game 6, but were kept off the scoreboard until Mason Marchment's goal midway through the third period.

The Stars outshot Edmonton by a 12-3 margin in the first period, but quickly fell behind shortly after defenseman Chris Tanev was called for a tripping penalty 3:35 in.

Edmonton needed just 42 seconds on the resulting power play to move ahead. McDavid skated deep into the Dallas zone, faked out a defender and lifted a backhand over the shoulder of Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger with 4:17 elapsed in the contest.

The Oilers converted another power-play chance awarded to them when Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter was called for slashing with 5:37 left in the first. McDavid found Hyman open in the slot and the standout sniper beat Oettinger stick-side with a wrist shot to extend the lead to 2-0 with 4:18 remaining in the period.

Skinner made nine more saves during a scoreless second period, but was unable to stop Marchment's close-range shot off a behind-the-net feed from Tyler Seguin that gave the Stars renewed life with 10:42 left to play.

Dallas pulled Oettinger with under 2 1/2 minutes left but was only able to get two shots on Skinner with the extra skater.

Oettinger recorded just eight saves and the Stars went 0 for 3 on the power play, while Edmonton converted both of its 5-on-4 attempts.

Stuart Skinner made first-period goals from Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman stand up by making 34 saves, and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years with Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars to win the Western Conference.

McDavid added an assist on Hyman's league-leading 14th goal of this year's post-season, while Evan Bouchard assisted on both Edmonton scores to help the Oilers oust Dallas in six games in the best-of-seven series and capture the Clarence Campbell Trophy for the first time since 2006.

Edmonton will meet the Florida Panthers in the Final, with Game 1 to take place Saturday in Florida. The Panthers won their second straight Eastern Conference title with Saturday's 2-1 win over the New York Rangers to also take that series in six games.

The Oilers have not hoisted the Stanley Cup since winning five titles in a seven-year span from 1984-90. The Panthers have never won the Cup since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1993-94.

Dallas, meanwhile, lost in the West Final for the second consecutive year after falling to the eventual Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in six games last season. The Stars had a decisive 35-10 shot advantage in Game 6, but were kept off the scoreboard until Mason Marchment's goal midway through the third period.

The Stars outshot Edmonton by a 12-3 margin in the first period, but quickly fell behind shortly after defenseman Chris Tanev was called for a tripping penalty 3:35 in.

Edmonton needed just 42 seconds on the resulting power play to move ahead. McDavid skated deep into the Dallas zone, faked out a defender and lifted a backhand over the shoulder of Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger with 4:17 elapsed in the contest.

The Oilers converted another power-play chance awarded to them when Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter was called for slashing with 5:37 left in the first. McDavid found Hyman open in the slot and the standout sniper beat Oettinger stick-side with a wrist shot to extend the lead to 2-0 with 4:18 remaining in the period.

Skinner made nine more saves during a scoreless second period, but was unable to stop Marchment's close-range shot off a behind-the-net feed from Tyler Seguin that gave the Stars renewed life with 10:42 left to play.

Dallas pulled Oettinger with under 2 1/2 minutes left but was only able to get two shots on Skinner with the extra skater.

Oettinger recorded just eight saves and the Stars went 0 for 3 on the power play, while Edmonton converted both of its 5-on-4 attempts.

Sergei Bobrovsky had a shutout until the final minutes and the Florida Panthers held on for a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers to reserve a spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season on Saturday.

Sam Bennett scored in the first period and Vladimir Tarasenko tallied in the third for the Panthers, who will face either Edmonton or Dallas for the Cup, with that series set to start on June 8.

Bobrovsky finished with 23 saves and turned away 69 of 74 shots over the final three games – all wins for Florida.

Florida will play for the Cup for the third time after it was swept by Colorado in 1996 and lost 4-1 to Vegas last season.

If Edmonton advances, Game 1 of the title round will be on Florida’s ice. If Dallas wins the West, the Stars will have home-ice advantage for the series.

The Rangers were held scoreless until Artemi Panarin scored with 1:40 remaining but were unable to find the equalizer.

New York had a 2-1 lead in the series before losing three straight games, meaning for the 11th consecutive year the team that finished with the NHL’s best regular season record won’t go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on the power play and Stuart Skinner took a shutout late into the third period as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the top-seeded Dallas Stars, 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final on Friday night.

Philip Broberg had the other goal and Evan Bouchard had a pair of assists for the Oilers, who can advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2005-06 with a win at home in Game 6 on Sunday night.

Skinner was perfect until Wyatt Johnson’s goal with 5:51 remaining. He held the Stars scoreless the rest of the way to finish with 19 saves in his second straight win after losses in Games 2 and 3.

There hadn’t been a power-play goal by either team in this series until Nugent-Hopkins scored on a rebound 18 seconds after a penalty in the first period. He struck again just 16 seconds after the Stars took a penalty early in the second period for a 2-0 advantage.

Dallas was limited to six shots on goal halfway through the game and dropped to 4-6 at home this postseason. The Stars are 0 for 11 on the power play in this series.

Anton Lundell snapped a tie midway through the third period and Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.

Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who can book a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a win at home in Game 6 on Saturday.

If a seventh game is necessary, it will be at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

The Panthers, who got 25 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky, lost to Vegas last year in the championship series.

Chris Kreider scored a short-handed goal and Alexis Lafreniere tallied in the final minute, but the Rangers couldn’t find the equaliser and lost their second straight.

New York is 3-5 in its last eight playoff games after opening with seven consecutive wins.

The go-ahead goal came after the Rangers lost the puck in the Florida end. Eetu Luostarien got the puck, found Lundell at the New York blue line. His shot from the right circle beat Igor Shesterkin, although it may have hit off the stick of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider.

Bennett’s empty-net goal proved necessary when Lafreniere made it a one-goal game with 50 seconds left.

Mattias Janmark scored a short-handed goal in the second period to snap a tie and Leon Draisaitl tallied 51 seconds later as the Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars to even the Western Conference final at two games apiece on Wednesday night.

Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard had first-period goals and Connor McDavid set up three scores for the Oilers, who trailed 2-0 less than six minutes into the game.

The series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5 on Friday night.

Stuart Skinner bounced back from consecutive losses with 20 saves.

Wyatt Johnston staked the Stars to a lead just 58 seconds into the game and Esa Lindell made it 2-0 at 5:29 of the opening period.

Dallas had a power play with eight minutes left in regulation and a chance to make it a one-goal game, but Edmonton killed its 23rd straight penalty before Mattias Ekholm’s empty-netter sealed the win.

The Oilers made three lineup changes, inserting defenseman Philip Broberg along with McLeod and fellow forward Corey Perry for Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick.

Stars defenseman Chris Tanev left in the second period with a lower body injury and did not return.

Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal 1:12 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-2 to even the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.

Reinhart, who led the NHL with 27 power-play tallies in the regular season, found himself alone in the slot while on the man advantage. Aleksander Barkov provided the primary assist, and Reinhart beat Igor Shesterkin on the glove side.

After scoring a career-high 57 goals in the regular season, Reinhart has added eight goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, including four on the power play.

Carter Verhaeghe also scored on the man-advantage for Florida, with Sam Bennett providing the Panthers’ first goal of the night.

Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere scored for the Rangers, who won Games 2 and 3 in overtime. Shesterkin made 37 saves in the loss.

On Thursday, the series will shift back to New York, where the teams split the first two games of the East finals.

Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal 1:12 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-2 to even the Eastern Conference final at two games apiece.

Reinhart, who led the NHL with 27 power-play tallies in the regular season, found himself alone in the slot while on the man advantage. Aleksander Barkov provided the primary assist, and Reinhart beat Igor Shesterkin on the glove side.

After scoring a career-high 57 goals in the regular season, Reinhart has added eight goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, including four on the power play.

Carter Verhaeghe also scored on the man-advantage for Florida, with Sam Bennett providing the Panthers’ first goal of the night.

Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere scored for the Rangers, who won Games 2 and 3 in overtime. Shesterkin made 37 saves in the loss.

On Thursday, the series will shift back to New York, where the teams split the first two games of the East final.

Jason Robertson finished his first career play-off hat trick with the tie-breaking goal in the third period as the Dallas Stars rallied for a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Monday's Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.

Wyatt Johnston and Miro Heiskanen also had goals to give the Central Division champion Stars a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series despite a 2-0 deficit after one period. 

Dallas also got a lift from the return of Roope Hintz, who assisted on Robertson's first two goals in his first appearance since missing the team's last four games with an upper-body injury. 

Jake Oettinger also had a hand in the victory, as the Dallas goaltender withstood an early and late barrage of shots to record 27 saves and outplay counterpart Stuart Skinner, who stopped just 17 shots for Edmonton.

The Stars improved to 6-1 on the road in this post-season and can move a win away from their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in five years in Wednesday's Game 4, which will also take place in Edmonton. 

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who built a 2-0 lead just 7:37 in before the Stars rallied with three straight goals in the second period.

Robertson began the comeback with a pair of goals 2:30 apart, with the second coming 8:05 into the stanza when he backhanded a loose puck over Skinner's shoulder.

Dallas, which outshot the Oilers by a 16-7 margin in the second period, needed only 63 seconds to strike again. Jamie Benn out-raced an Edmonton defender for the puck behind the Oilers' net and the Stars got it into the crease for an awaiting Johnston, who hammered home a close-range shot for his eighth goal of the post-season.

Edmonton would recover, however, to tie the game 53 seconds before the second intermission. Warren Foegele forced a turnover in the Dallas zone and teammate Connor Brown corralled the puck before delivering a centering pass that Adam Henrique knocked past Oettinger to forge a 3-3 deadlock.

Henrique was playing for the first time since May 10 after missing seven straight games with an ankle injury.

The Oilers then owned a 13-3 shot advantage in the third period, but still fell behind when Robertson jammed the puck past Skinner with 8:06 remaining to complete his hat trick.

Oettinger made the lead hold up before Heiskanen scored into an empty net with 1:52 left shortly after Skinner was pulled for an extra attacker.

Edmonton got the game off to a flying start when Zach Hyman deflected McDavid's chance on net past Oettinger just 2:02 in. The goal was Hyman's league-leading 13th of this post-season.

McDavid increased the lead just 5:35 later by knocking in a loose puck sent to the Dallas net by teammate Mattias Ekholm.

Alex Wennberg scored 5:35 into overtime to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 series lead on the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final with a thrilling 5-4 win on Sunday.

Wennberg deflected a shot from teammate Ryan Lindgren past Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to move the President's Trophy-winning Rangers within two victories of the Stanley Cup Final, despite the Panthers recording a 37-23 shot advantage for the game.

New York was able to get another standout performance from Igor Shesterskin, however, as well as two goals each from Alexis Lafreniere and Game 2 hero Barclay Goodrow. Shesterskin made 33 saves to outplay Russian counterpart Bobrovsky, who stopped just 18 of 23 shots. 

Sam Reinhart had a pair of power-play goals for the Atlantic Division-champion Panthers, who trailed 4-2 after two periods before forcing overtime on goals by Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling in the third.

Florida will attempt to even the series when it hosts Game 4 on Tuesday.

The Rangers registered the two lone goals of the second period - a highlight-reel score from Lafreniere and a short-handed tally by Goodrow - to snap a 2-2 tie, but the Panthers roared back with a dominant third period in which they outshot New York by a 13-4 margin.

Barkov tipped in a shot from Carter Verhaeghe 5:04 into the period to get Florida within 4-3. Less than two minutes later, Forsling skated in untouched before ripping a shot by Shesterskin to tie the contest. 

After the series opened with a pair of low-scoring games, each team scored twice during the first period Reinhart began by depositing a backhand into the Rangers' net with Florida on a power play 2:50 in.

Lafreniere and Goodrow scored 25 seconds apart to send the Rangers ahead with under eight minutes elapsed, but Reinhart knocked in another backhander with the Panthers on the power play to forge a 2-2 tie with 5:14 left in the period.

New York regained the lead when Lafreniere split two Florida defenders before slipping a shot under Bobrovsky's pad with 4:37 left in the second. The Panthers had a golden chance to pull even soon afterward, though, when Rangers' defenseman Jacob Trouba was called for a double-minor penalty 2:25 before the second intermission.

Florida failed to control the puck on the ensuing power play, however, and Vincent Trocheck fed Goodrow - who scored the game-winner in New York's 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 - for a one-timer that extended the lead to 4-2.

Mason Marchment scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Jake Oettinger made it stand up with 28 saves as the Dallas Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 to even the Western Conference final at a game apiece on Saturday night.

Marchment deflected a shot that went through the legs of Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais and bounced on the ice past Stuart Skinner at 3:41 of the final period. It was Marchment’s first goal since the playoff opener on April 22.

Jamie Benn opened the scoring for Dallas 3:39 into the game and Connor Brown answered for Edmonton just 44 seconds later.

Esa Lindell tallied into an empty net with 2:03 remaining.

The series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 on Monday night.

Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots as the Oilers were held to fewer than two goals for just the second time in 14 playoff games. The other was a 1-0 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the first round.

Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl was held pointless, ending his playoff-opening point streak at 13 games. That was one short of matching Mark Messier’s franchise record set in 1988.

Dallas failed to capitalise on its only power play of the game after going 0 for 5 in Game 1. That extended the Oilers’ streak of 20 penalties killed over six-plus games since giving up a power-play goal in Game 3 of its second-round series against Vancouver.