The Edmonton Oilers are headed to the Stanley Cup Final.
And Connor McDavid is a huge reason why.
McDavid scored 32 goals and added another 100 assists during the regular season, notching a whopping plus-minus of +35 this year, a career-high. McDavid has been just as good in the playoffs, scoring five goals and adding another 26 assists in just 18 games, with a mark of +7 over Edmonton’s playoff run.
And he helped the Oilers book their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night with perhaps the goal of the playoffs.
Just over three minutes into the first period Sunday night Dallas Stars defenseman Chris Tanev was sent to the box for a tripping penalty, putting the Oilers on the early power play. Less than a minute into the one-man advantage, McDavid opened the scoring with this incredible display of stickwork:
McDavid dekes a pair of Dallas players, first getting to the outside of forward Sam Steel near the faceoff circle, before cutting inside of defender Miro Heiskanen just outside the crease. From there he buries the quick backhander by Stars goalie Jake Oettinger to give Edmonton the early 1-0 lead.
This slow-motion replay posted by the team’s social media account is certainly worth a look, and is likely being replayed throughout the day at homes and offices throughout Western Canada:
A power-play goal from Hyman later in the first period — with McDavid notching an assist — gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission. Dallas clawed back into the game in the third period on a goal from Mason Marchment to cut Edmonton’s lead to 2-1, but the scoring ended there as the Oilers booked their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.
The win also capped off a tremendous in-season turnaround for the Oilers. Back in late November the Oilers were just 5-12-1, ten points back of Seattle and St. Louis for the final wild-card spot in the West. They were also 19 points behind Vegas for the top spot in the conference.
But the team went on an eight-game win streak — followed shortly thereafter with a 16-game win streak — to finish 44-15-5 over the rest of the season, the hottest team in the league.
With perhaps the hottest player in the league leading the way.
