Edmonton Oilers coast to Stanley Cup Final showdown against Florida Panthers for second consecutive year
For the second consecutive year, hockey fans will be treated to Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday to win Game 5, and the Western Conference Final, to advance to the Cup.
It was a quick start for Connor McDavid and company as Edmonton scored two goals on their first two shots of the game.
With the Stars fans on hand at the American Airlines Center stunned, Dallas coach Pete DeBoer pulled goalie Jake Oettinger, who was replaced by Casey DeSmith.
Oilers forward Jeff Skinner would tally the team's third goal minutes later.
But as the Stars had showed throughout the playoffs, they had no quit.
Jason Robertson stopped the bleeding and got Dallas on the board as they took a 3-1 deficit into the first intermission.
After a Roope Hintz goal to bring the Stars back to just a one-goal game, it was McDavid that came through and flashed why he is the most dangerous player in the game.
The 28-year-old, three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner gathered a redirection from Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner and blazed down center ice to beat DeSmith to extend the lead.
Despite Robertson scoring his second goal of the game, the Oilers proved to be too much, adding two more goals to down the Stars in the conference finals for the second straight year and coast to another Cup final against the Panthers.
The Oilers celebrated in front of the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which McDavid went against all usual hockey norms and touched the trophy. The Oilers didn't touch the trophy last year before losing to the Panthers in seven games.
McDavid said after the game he was proud of his team's will all series long.
'It was a long night. We hung in there,' McDavid told the ESPN broadcast. 'I thought we played well all five games. Honestly, everybody stepped up. Everybody made contributions. Fun group to be apart of for sure.'
The Oilers will face a Panthers team that is coming off a dominant stretch in this year's playoffs, eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games on Wednesday to secure their third consecutive trip to the Cup.
The reigning champions Panthers defeated the Oilers in a hard fought seven-game series last year.
McDavid called Florida a 'heck of a team.'
'Obviously, it's their third finals. They're a special group,' McDavid said. 'We're a special group. It's going to be fun. Couldn't ask for a better opportunity to go up against a team that beat us last year. Really excited about it.'
The Panthers will look to be the NHL's first team to repeat as Cup champions since their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, did so in 2020 and 2021.
Edmonton are now four games away from not only winning the franchise's fifth Cup and first since 1990, but they can become the first Canadian team to lift it since the Montreal Canadiens did in 1993.
Game 1 is at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
250 million bees on the loose in Washington state after truck rolls over
Credit: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office An estimated 250 million bees are on the loose in the US state of Washington after a lorry carrying beehives rolled over on Friday. Authorities reported that a commercial lorry carrying 70,000 pounds of pollinator beehives overturned in the town of Lynden, five miles south of the border with Canada, allowing 250 million bees to make their escape. '250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom county sheriff's department posted on social media. 'AVOID THE AREA due to the potential of bee escape and swarming.' More than two dozen beekeepers assisted emergency responders – some of whom were stung – with recapturing the bees, a spokesman for the sheriff's department told local media. The swarm of bees was so dense, it was 'like a cloud', Derek Condit, one of the beekeepers, told local media. 'It was pretty chaotic.' Some of the beekeepers were reportedly stung over a dozen times and were using tape to plug holes in their suits. 'I've never had that many bees – angry bees – at one time,' said Russell Deptuch, another local beekeeper, in an interview with local media. The lorry was on its way to the US state of South Dakota when it rolled over early on Friday morning. However, it was a botched rescue mission several hours later which ultimately caused the mass flight as a tow truck attempted to pull the vehicle out of a ditch, causing the hives to fall off. 'Unfortunately, that didn't happen as smoothly as was hoped, and some of the beehives broke open, which caused all the bees to swarm, which is how we're in the situation we're in now,' said Matt Klein, the deputy director of the division of emergency management for the sheriff's department, in a statement. The aim of the recovery operation is to save as many bees as possible and allow them to re-hive and find their queen, which the sheriff's department estimated would take one or two days. Although there is a large number of bees needing to be recaptured, the insects are social and drawn to their hives, meaning they are likely to stay near the truck. 'That's where their queen and the next generation of bees (the 'brood') are located,' Gene Robinson, a professor of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told The New York Times. Each hive tends to contain between 40,000 and 60,000 bees, Mr Robinson said. As of Friday afternoon, the beekeepers and emergency responders had restored most of the hives, and the majority of the insects are expected to return by Saturday morning, the sheriff's department said. Until then, the road has been closed and the public advised to stay at least 200 yards from the area. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Salmonella outbreak in cucumbers expands to 18 states, 45 sickened
A salmonella outbreak traced to a Florida-based cucumber producer has expanded to include 45 people reporting illness in 18 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Target stores joined a growing list of retailers that sold recalled cucumbers or ready-to-eat products featuring the fruit, and it's warning that purchasers should throw them away. The retailer issued a list of recalled products, including a Greek-style chicken salad from Boar's Head and several types of sushi restaurant staples, such as maki rolls with tempura and California rolls, all sold under the Mai brand. Last week, grocery store chain Walmart was added to the list of retailers urging customers to put the possibly tainted products in the trash, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; its Marketside cucumber slices are a part of the recall. Patients connected to the outbreak have turned up in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, the FDA said on Friday. Of 45 people who have reported illness connected to the outbreak, 16 have been hospitalized, the agency said. No deaths have been reported. While investigators' focus has been on the strain salmonella montevideo, multiple other strains were detected in samples taken from a Pennsylvania distribution center belonging to Florida-based Bedner Growers, believed to be a source, the FDA said in its Friday statement. The FDA said that those different strains so far appear to be unrelated to the spring outbreak, but that it is investigating further alongside scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "CDC is working to determine if additional human illnesses match these additional strains," the FDA said. "Further analysis of the sample is pending." All the illnesses so far have been connected to cucumbers produced by Bedner and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, the agency said. The cucumbers and products that contained them were sold from April 29 to May 19, the FDA said. The first retailers noted for selling the potentially tainted cucumbers were three Bedner's Farm Fresh Market locations in Florida, but the list of public-facing sellers has continued to increase. Other distributors as well as eateries were told they may have also purchased the possibly tainted cucumbers, labeled for wholesale as 'supers,' 'selects,' or 'plains," the FDA said. FDA inspectors unearthed tainted cucumbers during an inspection last month of Bedner Growers' facilities, it said. The review was a follow-up to a Salmonella Africana outbreak linked to the producer last year, according to the agency. Bedner's did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday. A spokesperson for Fresh Start Produce Sales said last week that the company "is committed to protecting public health and helping Bedner Growers with its recall." Salmonella is a bacterium that can thrive amid animals and their fecal matter and contaminate nearby produce, which can reach the dinner table if unwashed, according to the FDA and CDC. Older people, children under 5, and those with compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible to the salmonella's worst symptoms and even death. Patients sickened by it can develop stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea and the urge to vomit anywhere from six hours to six days after infection, the CDC says. Salmonella is 'a leading cause of foodborne illness, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States and worldwide," the CDC states. This article was originally published on
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Mississippi State beats Northeastern 11-2 to end the Huskies' NCAA-leading 27-game win steak
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Joe Powell drove in four runs, including a two-run homer, freshman Ryan McPherson pitched four innings of scoreless relief and Mississippi State beat Northeastern 11-2 on Friday night in the Tallahassee Regional to end the Huskies' NCAA-leading 27-game win streak. It was Northeastern's first loss since April 6 against Campbell.
