Perry not taking latest Cup run with Oilers for granted

DALLAS -- Corey Perry is 40 years old, and here he was at the end of Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, wrestling to the ice a huge player half his age.

The Edmonton Oilers had lost to the Dallas Stars 6-3. A scrum broke out, and the 6-foot-3, 208-pound veteran forward went after 6-foot-7, 231-pound rookie defenseman Lian Bichsel.

The 21-year-old put his head down until two officials broke it up. Perry chirped at him afterward.

"You know, you play this game to win, and sometimes you get [ticked] off, and things happen," Perry said Thursday. "I'm not going to lie."

Perry still has fire, physicality and skill. Game 2 is here Friday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC), and don't be surprised if he's a factor before this best-of-7 series is over, one way or another.

Of course, Perry isn't the player he used to be. He led the NHL with 50 goals for the Anaheim Ducks in 2010-11, when he won the Hart Trophy, voted the League's most valuable player. He has scored more than 30 goals in a season six times.

But in mostly a fourth-line role during the regular season, he still scored 19 goals. Only four came on the power play.

"He's reliable, he's smart, he can read the play, and obviously the speed isn't there like some other players, but he thinks it so much better than others," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "And you know, one area where Corey's really good at is scoring goals. … For him to do that in his role says a lot."

Perry has moved up and down the lineup during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he has five goals, tied with defenseman Evan Bouchard for second on the Oilers. Only forward Leon Draisaitl (six) has more. With two power-play goals, Perry is tied for the Edmonton lead with Bouchard and forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

He took a high-sticking penalty in the third period Wednesday, which led to one of the Stars' three straight power-play goals that turned a 3-1 Edmonton lead into a 4-3 Dallas lead. But he didn't consider that part of playing on the edge.

Not that he would stop, anyway.

"You still have to play with an edge," Perry said. "You still have to play hockey. You still have to do what the Oilers do."

How many players at any age can be chippy while chipping in offensively the way Perry does? How many can jump up and keep up with Draisaitl and center Connor McDavid when needed?

"He gives you everything he's got and is effective in many, many situations and roles," McDavid said. "Obviously a guy that's seen it all, knows exactly what it takes and knows what's expected of him and where he's slotted in the lineup, so whether that's a first line, fourth line, power play, whatever it is, he knows what's expected and delivers time and time again."

Perry is one of the subplots that makes this series so compelling. Each of these teams and several individuals know all too well how difficult it is to win the Stanley Cup and are desperate to get it done this time.

The Stars lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and in the conference final each of the past two years. Coach Pete DeBoer and forwards Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene have never won the Cup during their long NHL careers. Forward Tyler Seguin hasn't won it since he was a 19-year-old rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2011.

The Oilers lost in the conference final in 2022 and the Cup Final last year, when they rallied from down 3-0 against the Florida Panthers only to fall short in Game 7. Perry hasn't won the Cup since he did it with the Ducks in 2007, when he was 22 and in his second NHL season.

Four times in the previous five seasons, he has lost in the Cup Final -- with the Stars in 2020, the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and the Oilers last year.

You get this far, you fight to the end, whether you're 40 or 20.

Especially when you're 40.

"You don't get this opportunity too many times, and there's reasons for that, and this league is so good that you have to take that opportunity and run with it," Perry said. "You have to be urgent. You have to be in the moment, present, and take advantage of where we are. There's only four teams left. Everybody else is at home watching, so you can go out and do something special."