* The Oilers are headed to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after a tumultuous season which saw the club battle back from 31st in the NHL standings, marking their first appearance in the championship series in 18 years.
* Connor McDavid, the League’s leading scorer in five of the past eight years, will look to make NHL history as he makes his first Stanley Cup Final appearance in the city he officially became an Oiler – he was drafted first overall in the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Fla.
* After 1,393 games through the regular season and playoffs, the 2024 Stanley Cup Final is set: the Panthers will meet the Oilers for their first-ever postseason series – two teams who finished in the top three in wins since Jan. 1.
* Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday, June 8 in Florida at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC.
OILERS ADVANCE TO 2024 STANLEY CUP FINAL
On Nov. 22, the Oilers were 5-12-1 through their first 18 games. Fast forward 193 days and the club claimed the title of Western Conference champion and secured its spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The victory allowed the Oilers to clinch their eighth Final appearance, tying the Flyers for the most by a non-Original Six franchise.
* Edmonton’s road to the championship series included a coaching change on Nov. 13 when they named Kris Knoblauch head coach. The team ranked 31st overall in the NHL standings on Nov. 14 and sat among the bottom three teams in the League in early December before posting a 16-game winning streak from Dec. 21 – Jan. 27.
* The Oilers look to become the second team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after sitting 10-plus points out of a playoff spot during the regular season. The 2018-19 Blues are the only club to accomplish the feat.
* The Oilers can become the first Canadian team to hoist the Stanley Cup in over 30 years since the Canadiens did so in 1993. Since the start of the NHL’s expansion era (1967-68), Edmonton (5) is one of just three teams with at least five Stanley Cups alongside Montreal (10) and Pittsburgh (5).
* Edmonton won its eighth Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and first in 18 years (also 2006, 1990, 1988, 1987, 1985, 1984 & 1983). The Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup in five of those years (1990, 1988, 1987, 1985 & 1984).
USUAL SUSPECTS LEAD OILERS TO VICTORY
The usual suspects led the way for the Oilers in Game 6 as Connor McDavid (1-1—2), Evan Bouchard (0-2—2), Zach Hyman (1-0—1) and Stuart Skinner (34 saves) each played a crucial role in helping their club advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
* McDavid (5-26—31 in 18 GP) reached the 30-point mark prior to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in his career (also 2022) and joined Wayne Gretzky (4x) as the second player in NHL history to achieve the feat multiple times.
* The Oilers captain finished the Western Conference Final with 3-7—10 (6 GP) and booked his sixth career playoff series with at least 10 points. The only other skaters with as many 10-point series are Gretzky (21), Mark Messier (8), Denis Savard (7) and Mario Lemieux (6).
* Bouchard (6-21—27 in 18 GP) became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record 20 assists in a postseason. The others: Paul Coffey (25 in 1985), Al MacInnis (24 in 1989), Brian Leetch (23 in 1994), Cale Makar (21 in 2022) and Miro Heiskanen (20 in 2020). He also became the seventh blueliner in League history with six multi-assist games in a postseason – the only with more is Larry Robinson (7 in 1978).
* Hyman notched his second series-clinching goal of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (also Game 5 of R1) and became the third player in Oilers history to record multiple in one postseason, following Ken Linseman (3 in 1984) and Joe Murphy (2 in 1990). Linseman (4), Messier (3) and Jari Kurri (3) are the only Oilers skaters with more than two career series-clinching goals.
* Skinner improved to 4-0 in series-clinching games and became the seventh goaltender in NHL history to win each of the first four or more potential series-clinching contests in their career. He joined Bill Ranford (6 GP), Gerry Desjardins (5 GP), Gump Worsley (5 GP), Mike Karakas (5 GP), Mike Palmateer (4 GP) and Gerry Cheevers (4 GP).
McDAVID IS HEADING TO THE 2024 STANLEY CUP FINAL
After 982 regular-season points, seven 100-point campaigns, a trophy case that includes five Art Ross Trophies, three Hart Trophies and a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, Connor McDavid is headed to the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid opened Game 6 of the 2024 Western Conference Final in stunning fashion – with one of the many highlight-reel goals he’s awed fans with over the course of his nine-season career.
* McDavid can become the first player in NHL history with seven 100-point seasons prior to winning his first Stanley Cup – Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman currently top the list with six apiece. After tallying 32-100—132 (76 GP) in 2023-24, the Oilers captain can join Wayne Gretzky (1988, 1987, 1985, 1984) as the second player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after recording 100-plus assists in the regular season.
* McDavid is now four wins away from becoming the first player in NHL history to win his first Stanley Cup after capturing five Art Ross Trophies. In fact, only five players in League history have as many Art Ross Trophies and a Stanley Cup in their career: Gretzky (10), Gordie Howe (6), Lemieux (6), Phil Esposito (5) and Jaromir Jagr (5).
STANLEY CUP FINAL MATCHUP IS SET
After 1,393 games through the regular season and playoffs, the 2024 Stanley Cup Final is set: the Panthers will meet the Oilers for their first-ever postseason series. This Final will mark the fifth straight championship series that two teams are meeting in the postseason for the first time, as well as the 67th unique Final in NHL history.
* The Panthers swept the season series against the Oilers, defeating them on Nov. 20 (5-3 W) in Sunrise and on Dec. 16 (5-1 W) in Edmonton. Carter Verhaeghe led all players with 3-2—5 over the two games,
* The Oilers (31-12-5, 67 points) and Panthers (30-12-4, 64 points) finished second and third (tied) for regular-season wins since the start of the calendar year. Connor McDavid (19-65—84 in 44 GP) led the NHL in scoring through that span, averaging nearly two points per game (1.91), while Sam Reinhart finished with 34 regular-season goals since Jan. 1 – the second most among all players at a .74 goals-per-game clip.
* Reinhart (57) and Zach Hyman (54) were two of the four players to hit the 50-goal mark this season, making this the 10th Stanley Cup Final in League history to feature a 50-goal scorer on each team. The last was the 1994 Final between the Rangers (Adam Graves: 52) and Canucks (Pavel Bure: 60).
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE: FROM 16 TEAMS DOWN TO TWO
After receiving nearly 750,000 unique submissions at the start of the postseason, the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge is nearing its conclusion as the Oilers and Panthers are the last two teams standing.
* Of the 749,014 brackets submitted at the start of the playoffs, 3.65% (27,345) had the Oilers and Panthers facing off in the Stanley Cup Final with 58.4% of that group (15,975) selecting Edmonton to win the Cup and 41.6% (11,370) taking Florida.
* Within the Second Chance Bracket, which began at the start of the Second Round, 5,873 of the 74,249 submissions had the Oilers and Panthers meeting in the Final – just 7.9% of all brackets.
* Regardless of their opponent in the Final, 12.9% of all brackets selected the Oilers to hoist the Cup, while 7.8% of brackets had the Panthers winning the championship series.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Game 6 of the 2024 Western Conference Final
* Snow family helps Steve Gleason throw first pitch at Mariners game on Lou Gehrig Day
* Paul Maurice used right mix of humor, sincerity to coach Panthers back to Cup Final
* Oilers don't touch Clarence S. Campbell Bowl after Game 6 win
* Color of Hockey: Lennie Childs trailblazer as first Black coach in USHL
