McDavid's series-clinching goal puts Oilers back in Stanley Cup Final

DALLAS -- For his Edmonton Oilers teammates, it’s Connor McDavid’s world and they’re just glad to be living in it.

Who wouldn’t be?

Just when they think they’ve seen it all, from the spectacular to the insane to the truly ridiculous, he does it again.

And all they can do is shake their heads.

“Just incredible. In the big moments, he always steps up,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said after Edmonton punched its ticket into the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive time with a 6-3 victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

“It makes such a difference for a team. We’re lucky to have him.”

Veteran Oilers wing Corey Perry, who in the course of his 21-year career has played with greats like Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Ryan Getzlaf, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman, took it one step further.

“He’s the best player in the world,” Perry said after the Oilers won the best of-7 series 4-1.

Even Oilers wing Leon Draisaitl, a four-time 50-goal scorer and the 2020 Hart Trophy recipient as NHL MVP, was left in awe by another example of McDavid being McDavid.

“We’re very fortunate to have him on our side,” Draisaitl said with a wry grin.

Make no mistake. The Oilers aren’t in the Final against the Florida Panthers again just because of McDavid. But they certainly wouldn’t be in this position without him.

Sure, it speaks to his elite play that he’s leading the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) heading into the showdown against Florida, the team that handed the Oilers a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the Final a year ago.

And yes, his assist on Perry’s power-play goal at 2:31 of the first period made him the second-fastest player in NHL history to reach 100 playoff assists, behind only fellow Oilers great Wayne Gretzky. McDavid reached the feat in just 90 games, 20 more than Gretzky did.

But it's his astute ability to suck the life out of an opposing team just as it is gaining momentum that makes him the type of difference-maker we haven’t seen in a long while.

Just ask the Stars.

It was midway through the second period, and Roope Hintz’s goal at 12:27 had brought Dallas to within 3-2 of the Oilers. The arena was going bonkers, and rightly so. The Stars, who had given up the game’s first three goals, had closed the gap to one and were making a push to tie.

Except McDavid would have none of it.

After Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm blocked a shot that rebounded all the way into the neutral zone, McDavid picked up the loose puck and was off to the races. Hintz, one of the fastest players in the League, tried to dog McDavid from behind but could not keep him from smoothly stick-handling around Dallas goalie Casey DeSmith to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead.

It would prove to be the winning goal. In the process, it shut up the home crowd just 2:01 after Hintz had brought them to their feet.

“I think, all things considered, my hockey brain goes to that’s one of the nicest goals I’ve ever seen him score,” Draisaitl said. “Just the whole situation, how it played out, who he had coming up behind him, I mean, ya, that’s a big-time play.”

By arguably hockey’s biggest-time player.

Consider his last 11 months, for example.

Last June, he helped the Oilers reach the Final for the first time since 2006.

In February, he scored the tournament-winning goal in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory against the United States in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

And now, thanks in part to his nine points (three goals, six assists) in the five-game series against the Stars, the Oilers have another chance to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990.

It has been a wild ride for him in the past year, one he’s focused on punctuating by hoisting the Cup and fulfilling a childhood dream.

“I’ve been fortunate to be part of good teams,” McDavid said. “Last year we were a great team, and we were just one or two shots away from winning.

“And I was really fortunate to play on a great Canada team, a special team to be part of at a special event. With the long layoff there, it being international play, the Canada-U.S. rivalry, the fights, and then the final, I mean, I can’t say enough good things.

“It was one of the greatest hockey memories I’ve had.”

The goal now: create another one with a Cup win.