Kapanen makes most of opportunity with OT goal to send Oilers to Western Conference Final

LAS VEGAS -- When Connor McDavid was holding court with the media after the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, coach Kris Knoblauch walked over to forward Kasperi Kapanen on the other side of the locker room and thanked him.

Kapanen scored at 7:19 of OT and made Knoblauch look brilliant for inserting him in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch for the first nine games of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The goal closed out the best-of-7 series and sent Edmonton to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons.

The Oilers will play either the Dallas Stars or Winnipeg Jets. After Winnipeg's 4-0 win on Thursday, the Stars lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 in Dallas on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ABC, ESPN+).

"There are so many good players on this team that I understood when [Knoblauch] told me I wasn't going to start playing against (the Los Angeles Kings in the first round)," Kapanen said following the win. "The team was playing really well, so we weren't changing our lineup, which was understandable and that's the main goal. That's the most important thing, is the team winning and now we're advancing."

Kapanen, 28, is familiar with scoring big goals. He scored 1:33 into overtime to give Finland the gold medal with a 4-3 win against Russia at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, sending an entire country into a wild frenzy. His goal at 11:53 of the second OT gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory against the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the 2017 first round.

On Wednesday, Kapanen kept the party going in Edmonton for at least another round.

"To be honest, it doesn't really matter who scores as long as somebody does," Kapanen said. "We didn't want to prolong the series any longer. The goal was important, yes, but I think without [goalie Stuart Skinner] and guys putting their body on the line and making the little plays and sacrifices, we wouldn't be here. It was a team effort for sure."

Kapanen proved to be an important addition to the Oilers this season. He was claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 19 and had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 57 games.

The first-round pick (No. 22) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2014 NHL Draft was used predominantly in a checking role during the regular season and entered the lineup for Game 4 against the Golden Knights in place of Viktor Arvidsson.

"When I was thinking about inserting Kapanen, we wanted a little more speed, physicality and we felt he was ready for that role," Knoblauch said.

Kapanen sat out the first round, a six-game win against Los Angeles. He was so effective with five hits and two shots on goal in 14:21 of a 3-0 win against Vegas in Game 4 on Monday that he stayed in the lineup for Game 5.

That proved to be the difference.

"I knew eventually I would probably get a chance and tried to just be patient and be ready," Kapanen said. "I think last game it was pretty obvious I had a lot of energy there and was just trying to make an impact that way and just keeping it simple, and [Wednesday] I was just lucky being in the right spot at the right time."

Kapanen knocked in a loose puck off a scramble in the Vegas crease to give Edmonton the win and the series. It wasn't as stylistic as the wraparound goal against Russia on Alexandar Georgiev, but he still considered it one of the biggest of his career.

"There's a guy that we picked up off waivers and has played the majority of the games and when playoffs started, you're inserting [Evander] Kane, you're inserting [Trent] Frederic and other guys that are coming back from injury and he kind of got pushed out," Knoblauch said. "Heading into playoffs, we knew we were going to need other guys, whether there were injuries or guys not playing well, or you need a certain role type and [Kapanen] the last two games comes up huge; a lot of big hits the other night, a lot of energy and [Wednesday] obviously with the goal."

The Oilers are looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final after losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 a year ago. They have come together after dealing with numerous injuries toward the end of the regular season. Kapanen, in his 11th season, played on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, and they kept Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel off the score sheet in the final two games of the series.

"We have a good combination of everything," Kapanen said. "Certainly, Leon is one of the better players offensively and defensively too, and me and [Podkolzin] are trying to use our speed and physicality to kind of get pucks back to him. I think it's a good combination of a lot of things.

"There's plenty of depth and a lot of experience, which I think is key. We're an older team and we still have a lot of energy and guys feel good. We're a dangerous team right now."