Oilers heading back to Stanley Cup Final: Game 5 grades and a look ahead

The Edmonton Oilers are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season, eliminating the Dallas Stars with a 6-3 victory in Game 5 after ousting them in six games last season in the Western Conference finals.

The Oilers chased Stars goalie Jake Oettinger just over seven minutes into the game with goals from Corey Perry and Mattias Janmark -- the only two shots Oettinger faced. Edmonton skated back to the locker room after the first period with a 3-0 lead. The rest of the game, the Oilers' offense answered every Dallas goal, draining the Stars' momentum, while the Oilers' defense once again stifled its opponent in the third period.

Now, it's time to take on the Florida Panthers again -- the team that beat the Oilers in three straight games before they rallied to push the series to seven only to fall short of raising the Cup.

In the expansion era (since 1967-68), there have been four instances of the same two teams meeting in the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons. The last time it happened in the NHL was in 2008 and 2009, when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and then the Penguins beat Detroit the following season, giving Sidney Crosby his first Stanley Cup.

The last team to beat the same opponent in the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons was the Montreal Canadiens, who beat the Boston Bruins in 1977 and 1978.

It's going to take a better effort from Florida to beat this version of the Oilers. Edmonton has leveled up considerably since last season in both defensive acumen and playoff confidence.

Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski look back at what happened in Game 5, along with what lies ahead for each franchise.

Edmonton Oilers
Grade: B+

The Oilers wasted no time getting down to business in Game 5 -- as in, scoring with their first shot on goal when Corey Perry tallied a power-play marker less than three minutes into the contest. Then it was Mattias Janmark capitalizing on a lazy line change by the Stars to double the Oilers' total less than halfway through the first period. Then it was Jeff Skinner -- scoring his first career playoff goal -- on the newly inserted Casey DeSmith. Wild.

The Oilers didn't have Zach Hyman in the lineup, and yet they hardly missed a beat thanks to their enviable depth showing up in a hurry.

But the Stars weren't about to go quietly. Brett Kulak's turnover wound up behind Stuart Skinner courtesy of a Jason Robertson strike that cut the Oilers' lead to 3-1. Edmonton's penalty kill had to come alive in the second, and while the Oilers killed off Kulak's sloppy hooking minor, they couldn't do it again when Mattias Ekholm took another infraction; Roope Hintz's tally got Dallas within one.

From there, it was like a call-and-response game for the Oilers. Connor McDavid didn't miss on a breakaway chance just over two minutes after Hintz' marker. When Robertson came calling again just 38 seconds into the third period to make it 4-3 Edmonton, Evander Kane restored the Oilers' two-goal cushion just over two minutes later.

The Oilers may not have played their best game of the series, but the way they recovered from every misstep showed why they have been such a force since that Game 1 loss. Dallas' explosion of power-play goals in that outing seemed to flip a switch, and Edmonton would not be denied. -- Shilton

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Connor McDavid scores to give Oilers two-goal lead

Connor McDavid's goal in the second period brings the Oilers' lead back up to two goals.

Dallas Stars
Grade: C-

The start earned an 'F' for Dallas, which didn't score first in any game of this series. To do so on Thursday night would have meant the Stars could exhale a little bit and give the Oilers something -- anything -- to worry about in this series. Instead, rookie Mavrik Bourque, back in the lineup for the first time since Game 4 against Colorado, took a high-sticking penalty just 1:47 into the game and Corey Perry converted on the power play.

Five minutes later, with his entire team sleepwalking in front of him, Jake Oettinger was beaten on a partial break by Mattias Janmark. And then the franchise goalie's night was suddenly over -- pulled 7:09 into the game having given up two goals on two shots. A Hail Mary desperation move by head coach Pete DeBoer ... who watched the Oilers buzz backup Casey DeSmith until Jeff Skinner scored his first playoff goal in his second career playoff game -- after 1,078 regular-season games -- to put Dallas in a 3-0 hole.

No matter what happened after that, this was the original sin for Dallas in Game 5. It's the story of the series: The Stars eventually doing something positive in the process of trying to dig out of their own grave, and frequently ceding momentum right back. Roope Hintz cuts the lead to 3-2 ... McDavid scores 2:01 later. Robertson, brilliant again, scores his second of the game to make it 4-3 ... Evander Kane bounces a puck off Esa Lindell less than three minutes later to create another two-goal cushion.

The Stars overcame incredible obstacles to reach the Western Conference finals for a third straight season. They eliminated the Avalanche in seven games while missing both Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. They bounced the President's Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets in six games.

The kind reading of their demise was that the Stars played well enough to win more than one game, but bad puck luck against a championship-level Edmonton defensive effort in front of Stuart Skinner was their undoing. (And what an incredible third-period team the Oilers have become.) The cynical reading of their elimination is that the Dallas stars didn't shine with the same magnitude as Edmonton's, their supporting cast was outplayed and Oettinger bent the knee to Skinner before pulled from the series.

Either reading leads to the same place: One round short of playing for the Stanley Cup, for the third straight year under DeBoer, despite having arguably the best collection of talent in those three postseason runs. How the franchise reacts to this will be fascinating. -- Wyshynski

Three Stars of Game 5

1. The "hope killer" Oilers

Edmonton flew out of the gate in Game 5, going up 3-0 in the first period. Then, as Dallas made it a one-goal game, Connor McDavid created a breakaway by out-pacing his marker and scored. After Jason Robertson scored to make it 4-3, Evander Kane banked one in off of Esa Lindell to stiff-arm the Stars. Whenever Dallas had hope, Edmonton found a way to dash it.

2. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
C, Oilers

Both had two points in the series-clinching Game 5 win. And both now have three postseasons with 25 or more points, tied for fourth-most in NHL history. Only Mark Messier (6), Wayne Gretzky (6), and Jari Kurri (5) have more.

3. Jeff Skinner
F, Oilers

Game 5 was Skinner's second career playoff game, drawing in with Zach Hyman out. He's the only NHL player to play 1,000 NHL games before making his postseason debut. He scored his first career postseason goal to make it 3-0 in the first period. What a moment! -- Arda Öcal

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Jeff Skinner nets Oilers' third goal of first period

Jeff Skinner's goal gives the Oilers a quick 3-0 lead in the first period.

Big questions

How will Zach Hyman's absence impact Edmonton in a Cup Final against Florida?

The Panthers play a physical game. Hyman was (or, still is) the playoffs' hit leader (with 111 in 15 games). He was also one of their most productive forwards, skating alongside McDavid and contributed to both special teams.

Make no mistake, just because Edmonton cruised along without him in Game 5 against Dallas doesn't discount the hole Hyman will leave when the Oilers are squaring off against the Panthers. Hyman had two goals and four points in the Cup Final last year, and he was even better production-wise in these playoffs than last.

Kris Knoblauch put Skinner in for Game 5 and that worked well enough, but will he remain the best option for Edmonton going into Game 1 versus Florida? Especially knowing the Panthers are a different type of team compared to the Stars?

The Cup Final is a series where Hyman's particular set of skills would have been a game-changer. But he won't be available, and how the Oilers adjust will be critical to whether they come away with a different result than 12 months ago. -- Shilton

Is this the end for Pete DeBoer in Dallas?

When DeBoer was hired in 2022 to replace Rick Bowness, he reportedly signed a four-year contract. He coached the Stars to three straight Western Conference finals in his first three seasons in Dallas.

The knock on DeBoer has been an inability to get his teams over the hump. He coached the New Jersey Devils (2012) and San Jose Sharks (2016) to the Stanley Cup Final, but failed to win the championship in either trip. Since 2018-19, DeBoer has lost in the Western Conference final six times in eight years.

Again, it's hard to argue with the regular-season success (.665 points percentage, his best with any of the five teams he's coached) or the fact his teams have made three straight conference finals. But they've bumped their heads against the ceiling three times.

He couldn't find a way to unlock them in the conference final this time. His pulling of Oettinger in the first will be a subject of debate.

The ultimate question for GM Jim Nill: Is there another coach that could get more from Dallas, or do they run it back with DeBoer and several roster tweaks? -- Wyshynski