Wins it off scramble in front at 7:19, Skinner makes 24 saves for Edmonton
Oilers at Golden Knights | Recap | Round 2, Game 5
LAS VEGAS — Kasperi Kapanen scored at 7:19 of overtime, and the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights with a 1-0 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
The puck stopped in the crease after Kapanen missed tipping in Darnell Nurse’s initial shot. Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl attempted to poke the puck in the net before Kapanen connected to score.
“I don’t think there’s a lot to it,” said Kapanen, who did not play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs until Game 4 against Vegas. “I missed it a couple times. Just trying to stay with it. Luckily, it went in. That pretty much summed up the whole game today. There weren’t too many grade-A chances, and I’m just happy with it.”
EDM@VGK, Gm5: Kapanen cleans up in front in overtime, lifting Oilers’ to series victory
The Oilers will play either the Dallas Stars or the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Final. Dallas leads that best-of-7 series 3-1 with Game 5 on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, CBC, TVAS, SN).
“I’m really excited, obviously. We’re excited. We keep putting ourselves in good positions, and we keep giving ourselves a chance,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “We keep knocking at the door. That’s all you can do: Give yourself a chance.”
Stuart Skinner made 24 saves in his second straight shutout for the Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Pacific Division.
“He came up big the last two nights,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We needed them, especially as the game wore on in the third period. A lot more saves were needed. But not only making the saves but looking confident. If anyone needed to feel good about their game and have a little reward, he definitely deserved it.”
EDM@VGK, Gm 5: Skinner seals the series for Oilers in shutout victory over the Golden Knights
Adin Hill made 31 saves for the Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific.
“Anytime you have a good team, you just feel like you didn’t really finish what you set out to do,” Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “It’s a hard League to win, and we know that. We knew that going in. So, yeah, it’s just disappointing.”
Golden Knights forward Mark Stone did not play in Game 5 with an undisclosed injury. The Vegas captain left Game 3 after playing 5:54 before returning for Game 4. Cole Schwindt drew into the lineup for his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game.
“Tough, obviously. [Stone’s] a [heck] of a player,” Golden Knights forward William Karlsson said. “We missed him.”
The Oilers went 0-for-2 on the power play, making them 0-for-14 on the road in the playoffs.
The Oilers outshot the Golden Knights 18-13 through two periods.
Brett Howden missed a wide-open net at 2:55 of the third period, resulting in a Draisaitl rush chance on the other end, which Hill saved.
McDavid had a partial rush opportunity at 18:54 that Hill saved. It was his first shot on goal of the game.
Vegas outshot Edmonton 9-6 in the third period.
“I’m super proud of the guys. When they came out, they were committed to playing the right way. They wanted to win,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Sometimes you’ve got to walk away and say, ‘You know, we didn’t blow it.’ We needed to be better in certain parts of the game. … As the game went on, we looked better and better, and I thought, ‘Hey, we’re going to get this one. We just need a break to get the first goal.’”
NOTES: Kapanen scored his second career playoff overtime goal, after also doing so in Game 2 of the 2017 first round with the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Edmonton reached the conference final for the 12th time in franchise history, tying the Chicago Blackhawks for the most since Edmonton’s inaugural season in 1979-80. … Edmonton advanced to a conference final for a second straight season and for the third time in the past four postseasons dating to 2022. The Oilers reached the conference final in consecutive postseasons for the first time in 33 years.
