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The Edmonton Oilers scored three goals in the first 8:07 and went on to eliminate the Dallas Stars with a 6-3 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday. “We knew we were going to need everybody,” Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl said. “Both goalies have given us a chance every night and our depth has been incredible. We’ve been playing good hockey, good solid hockey, throughout the lineup and you need that this time of year.” The Oilers will face the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final in a rematch from last season, when Florida won 2-1 in Game 7. Game 1 will be at Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX). “We should definitely be proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We should feel happy about what has gone on. Our [mindset] hasn’t been just be the best team out of the West. All summer, we weren’t thinking about that. We were thinking about the ultimate prize. This is ...

Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist for the Edmonton Oilers, who pushed the Dallas Stars to the brink with a 4-1 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Tuesday. The Oilers lead the best-of-7 series 3-1. They will have a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season in Game 5 in Dallas on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). “You know that they’re going to be pushing. They’ve got a fantastic team, they’ve got guys who can really skate, they’re dangerous off the rush,” Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner said. “You can keep talking about how amazing their team is. Even though it is 3-1, we have a lot more work to do. “You know for a fact that when they are at home they’re going to be giving a really big push. We’re going to be ready.” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid each had two assists, and Skinner made 28 saves for the Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Pacific Division. Zach Hyman left...

Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored twice for the Edmonton Oilers, who cruised to a 6-1 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Sunday. Edmonton leads the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will be here on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN, ESPN+). “You have to win games different ways. You have to have dominant nights, you have to have nights where maybe your goalie is better than theirs,” McDavid said. “You have to have nights where your special teams gets it done. That wasn’t tonight, although I thought the kill was good. “Five-on-five has been really good. It’s been our strength all playoffs long, which is maybe new for this group. We’ve relied on the power play for a long time, and for whatever reason it hasn’t been clicking. You have to find ways to win different games different ways, and we did again tonight.” Hyman also had an assist, Evan Bouchard had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane each had...

Stuart Skinner made 25 saves for his third shutout of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers tied the Western Conference Final series with a 3-0 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 2 at American Airlines Center on Friday. “It's like I said at the beginning of playoffs, it's a roller coaster. There's a lot of highs, lots of lows. Sometimes the score doesn't always tell everybody exactly how the game unfolded,” Skinner said. “I think a few minutes where we didn't play our best, and it looks a lot worse than what it was. So, for us just going back to tonight is really just playing the same game, doing the same thing, and just putting on our work boots and getting to work.” Game 3 of the best-of-7 series is in Edmonton on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN+, ABC). “As players you don’t have enough appreciation for how a goalie battles. You trust he’s going to do his job back there and battle and try to see the puck and make every save he can and he did t...

The Dallas Stars rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 with five goals -- three straight on the power play -- scored in the third period of Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Wednesday. “I didn’t feel we had played our best yet and it’s really tough to get to this point and if you are going to lose a game at this point in the year, you want to make sure the other team has to earn it,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “I didn’t feel through 40 minutes that we had made them earn the position they were in. So, guys responded. We got fortunate. We got some power-play goals. Happy for our power play. It took a lot of heat last year at this point of the year. It was the difference tonight for us, so it’s great.” In last year’s Western Conference Final matchup between Dallas and Edmonton, Dallas went 0-for-14 on the power play. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here on Friday (8:00 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS). Tyler Seguin ...

Thomas Harley scored a power-play goal 1:33 into overtime, and the Dallas Stars eliminated the Winnipeg Jets with a 2-1 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday. With Mark Scheifele in the penalty box for tripping Sam Steel on a breakaway with 15 seconds left in the third period, Harley won it with a one-timer from the high slot off Tyler Seguin’s pass from below the goal line. “It was all pretty quick,” Harley said. “It happened pretty quick. I do remember jumping up pretty high [in celebration]. I think I beat my record at training camp with that one. But [Seguin] made a great play behind the net with his head up. I just tried to put it across and it went in. After that, just happy thoughts.” Dallas will face the Edmonton Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Pacific Division, in a rematch of the conference final from last season, won by the Oilers in six games. Game 1 of the best-of-7 series will be here on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ...

Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves, and Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice in the third period for the Winnipeg Jets, who avoided elimination with a 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at Canada Life Centre on Thursday. “That was a great team win, took everyone and we’re going to have to do it again,” Hellebuyck said. “We had everyone. Everyone was doing the same things. They're going to have a big push back next game, so we got to make sure our details are right and we bring it. Our backs are against the wall and play Jet hockey.” Hellebuyck made 13 saves in the third period for his second shutout of the playoffs; he made 21 saves in a 4-0 win in Game 2. “It’s what he’s done for us all year,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said of Hellebuyck. “Another stellar game by him. Like you said, it’s 0-0, we have a bit of a breakdown and we could easily be down 1-0 there. It gets the building on their feet, gives us some energy, lets us take a deep breath and w...

Mikael Granlund scored a hat trick for the Dallas Stars, who pushed the Winnipeg Jets to the brink with a 3-1 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Tuesday. It was Granlund's first career hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was also just the third time in his NHL career he has scored three goals in a game, and the first since Dec. 29, 2017, when he played for the Minnesota Wild. Dallas leads the best-of-7 series 3-1. Game 5 will be in Winnipeg on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX). “When you pass all the time, you know, you’re going to surprise the goalie maybe once in a while to shoot the puck,” Granlund said. “The job is not done. We have a lot of work to do. So you know, a good win, and we have a tough game ahead of us in Winnipeg.” Jake Oettinger made 31 saves for Dallas, which is the No. 2 seed from the Central Division. Miro Heiskanen, who was playing in his first game since Jan. 28 because of a knee inj...

Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Sunday. Rantanen has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in his past six games. The forward, who was traded to the Stars by the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with nine goals and has factored on 15 of the Stars’ past 17 goals. “It's the best performance I've got to witness, standing where I'm standing with a guy on my team for this extended period,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “But you know, for me, he's just getting started. He's just warming up here. I think he's on a mission.” Dallas leads the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will be here on Tuesday (8:00 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). “It's great to be on the same side, for sure,” Dallas forward Mikael Granlund said of Rantanen. “We all can see what he's doing out there right now. He's such a...

Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves for the Winnipeg Jets, who evened their best-of-7 series against the Dallas Stars with a 4-0 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round at Canada Life Centre on Friday. “I thought the guys in front of me did a phenomenal job, just letting me see pucks and keeping the tips away, playing the rebounds,” Hellebuyck said. “It’s never just the goalie doing it — it’s everyone out there.” Dallas won Game 1, 3-2 on Wednesday. “We’re playing our game, and we know what it looks like and we know what it feels like,” Hellebuyck said. “That being said, we’ve got to wipe it and go play a hard road game. It’s never easy on the road, especially at playoff time.” Nikolaj Ehlers had two goals and an assist, and Gabriel Vilardi and Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy awarded annually to the team that finishes with the most points in the regular season. “[Hellebuyck] was fantastic,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Sometimes we tak...

Mikko Rantanen scored a natural hat trick in the second period, helping the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday. “Sometimes it’s ups and downs in hockey and now it’s going well individually and as a team,” Rantanen said. “But it’s important in the playoffs, like I’ve said before, if you win or you have a good game never get too high. You’ve got to reset and enjoy. Enjoy it for five minutes after the game and then reset.” Rantanen became the first player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with multiple three-goal periods in the same postseason; he had three goals in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the first round on Saturday. “[Rantanen is] just somebody that you always have to know when he's on the ice,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Whenever you face elite players, you have to know where they are. Obviously, he's feeling it coming off of Game 7. We...

Mikko Rantanen had a hat trick and an assist, and the Dallas Stars rallied with four straight goals in the third period to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-2 win in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday. Rantanen is the first player in NHL history to score a hat trick in the third period of a Game 7, and the first to record multiple four-point periods in a single postseason after also achieving the feat with a goal and three assists in the second period of Game 6. “I expected a seven-game series even before Game 1,” Rantanen said. “Ups and downs in the series, a couple of games we didn’t play well at all. Even tonight, a little bit flat first two periods, gave up a goal on our power play and they score first shift of the third, kind of takes the air out of the building. “But I think belief was there with the group the whole time. I was able to make a play to get the first one, then the crowd started to roll, we got a couple of loo...

Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals, and the Colorado Avalanche avoided elimination with a 7-4 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena on Thursday. Game 7 is in Dallas on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and two assists, and Martin Necas had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who are the No. 3 seed from the Central Division. Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson each had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves. “We competed to win tonight. That's what we did. Very similar to Game 4 in our building, both of them must-wins for me, and our team responded,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar. “Hopefully we do it one more time. “We have belief, and we're not going to give up on that. We got to go play another game to the best of our ability and give it everything we got against another team that's going to try and do the exact same thing.” Roope Hintz had two g...

Wyatt Johnston scored two goals, including the first just nine seconds into the game, and had an assist for the Dallas Stars in a 6-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Monday. The Stars lead the best-of-7 series 3-2. Game 6 will be in Denver on Thursday. “I'm not surprised by our response (after a 4-0 loss in Game 4 on Saturday). We've got a proud group. I think they feed off people doubting them,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “There were a lot of people before the series started and then after last game (doubting them). We know what was kind of the feeling in the hockey world about where we were at, and I think our guys wanted to prove that there's a lot of pride in our group, and there's a lot of playoff experience, and I think they showed all those things tonight." Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, and Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which is the No. 2 seed...

Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal in nearly three years, and the Colorado Avalanche shut out the Dallas Stars 4-0 in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena on Saturday. “I've envisioned scoring again for a long time, and then there were obviously days where I didn't know if I was ever going to get to score again,” said Landeskog. “So obviously it feels good. It's a tight playoff series and a big game here at home. To get to do it in front of our fans obviously means a lot. So super exciting. Hopefully more to come.” Landeskog, who was playing in his second game after returning from a knee injury that kept him out for nearly three years, scored on a slap shot from just above the inside edge of left circle to make it 3-0 at 13:10 of the second period. He also had an assist. The Colorado captain last scored in a 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 20, 2022. “It was kind of more than just a playoff goal. I...

Tyler Seguin scored at 5:31 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena on Wednesday. Seguin corralled Mason Marchment’s pass with his skate at the right circle, kicked the puck up to his stick, and sent a wrist shot short side over the shoulder of Mackenzie Blackwood to win it. Dallas killed off a four-minute Colorado power play prior to Seguin’s goal following a double minor against Marchment at 19:20 of the third period for high-sticking. “I wanted to one-time it. It was off, a little inside, and my subconscious was go low glove,” Seguin said. “I think you think about OT winners and you feel how important they are, but [there's] just so much more tonight than that goal. I mean, it's the penalty kill. It's the details of the game of what the guys did. “It's Mikko Rantanen on that shift before I scored, and what he did -- battling off three guys and changing for me. I was ju...

Colin Blackwell scored at 17:46 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Monday. After his initial shot in the slot was blocked, Blackwell skated into the rebound below the right circle and lifted it over Mackenzie Blackwood’s glove to tie the best-of-7 series 1-1. “That was a big win for us. I think if we go into Colorado down 2-0 it’s a different series,” Blackwell said. “That’s why you’re only as good as your next win or your next shift. Whether you make a mistake or things don’t go your way, you’ve got to have a short memory in order to do well in this league and go far in the playoffs. We did a good job of just being smart and sticking to the game plan and doing really well.” Game 3 is in Denver on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, Victory+, ALT). “It's going to be a long, tough series and we knew that. It would have been nice to get this one, but we got to take the...

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist for the Colorado Avalanche in a 5-1 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday. Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews and Charlie Coyle also scored, and Logan O'Connor had two assists for the Avalanche, who are the No. 3 seed from the Central Division. Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves. “[Blackwood]’s incredible,” Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. “When you have a guy like that back there that gives you that confidence, he’s very calm in the net, so you know if you do something or make a mistake, he’s going to be there. He definitely showed up tonight. Hopefully he can continue to do it, because he’s a huge piece of our team, and a great guy and a great player.’’ Roope Hintz scored, and Jake Oettinger made 19 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central. “I thought we played maybe our best game in a month or two tonight,” Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley sa...