The Edmonton Oilers are heading back to the Western Conference final thanks to a rebound performance from goalie Stuart Skinner.
Skinner, who had a 6.11 goals-against average after he was pulled in Game 2 of the first round, picked up his second consecutive shutout to oust the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday night 1-0 in overtime of Game 5.
Edmonton’s Kasperi Kapanen won the game and the series with a goal at 7:19 of the first overtime during a net-front scramble. The waiver pickup was making his second appearance of the playoffs. He has six career playoff goals but two of them have been scored in overtime.
Skinner returned to the net in Game 3 of the second round because of an injury to Calvin Pickard, who had won six in a row.
Vegas won its lone game of the series 4-3 on a Reilly Smith goal with 0.4 seconds left, but Skinner has been unbeatable since. He made 24 saves in Game 5.
He had a similar rebound performance in the second round last season as he took the Oilers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Here are takeaways from the Edmonton Oilers’ Game 5 win against the Vegas Golden Knights:
Oilers vs. Golden Knights highlights
Connor McDavid’s point streak ends
McDavid’s eight-game point streak came to an end, but the Oilers are showing in this year’s playoffs that they don’t need big performances from him and Leon Draisaitl to win. Kapanen was the 16th Oilers player to get a goal this postseason. Corey Perry, who turns 40 on Friday, has five goals. Evander Kane, who missed the regular season, has four.
Vegas’ top scorers shut down
Pavel Dorofeyev, Tomas Hertl, Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Brett Howden combined for 141 goals in the regular season. But none had a goal in the second round.
Captain Mark Stone, who had a team-high four playoff goals, missed Game 5 with an injury. He was hurt in Game 3 but returned for Game 4.
What’s next for the Oilers?
They will face the winner of the Dallas Stars-Winnipeg Jets series in the conference final. Dallas leads that series 3-1 and can wrap it up Thursday night in Winnipeg. If that happens, it would be a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference final. The Oilers will lack home-ice advantage for the third series in a row.
What’s next for the Golden Knights?
Unlike recent years, the Golden Knights were relatively quiet at the trade deadline, bringing back original Golden Knights player Smith. They won the Pacific Division but will have to figure out why their offense didn’t produce.
Most of their core is signed long-term. Goalie Adin Hill is signed through 2031. Eichel has one year left on his contract and is eligible to sign an extension on or after July 1.
Smith, Brandon Saad, Victor Olofsson, Tanner Pearson and backup goalie Ilya Samsonov are pending unrestricted free agents.
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