The Edmonton Oilers know they weren’t the favourites heading into their second-round playoff series against the Golden Knights.
It didn’t matter.
Edmonton edged Vegas 1-0 in overtime on Wednesday to win the best-of-seven series 4-1 and book their spot in the Western Conference final.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid was happy to upset expectations.
“There’s probably a lot of people who thought [the series] was going to go longer than five [games] and probably not a lot of people who thought we would win. It’s nice to keep on rolling, keep on proving people wrong,” he said.
“We have a lot of belief in this room. It’s fun to be a part of.”
After a defensive stalemate through 60 minutes, Kasperi Kapanen scored the series-clinching goal at the 7:19 mark of overtime.
It was a major play for the Finnish forward, who was a healthy scratch for the first nine games of Edmonton’s post-season run.
Oilers grind out OT win to finish Golden Knights series
On a team stacked with offensive talent, Kapanen said he understood when head coach Kris Knoblauch said he wouldn’t be in the lineup to start the playoffs.
“That’s the main goal, that’s the most important thing, is the team winning and us advancing,” he said. “I knew eventually I’d probably get a chance. And just being patient and being ready.”
Stuart Skinner stopped all 24 shots he faced on Wednesday to collect his second straight shutout.
“I’m really happy that I was able to come in and give my team a chance to win,” the goalie said. “Being able to do it in five is huge. The way [my teammates] played in front of me is massive.”
The Oilers have shown a lot of confidence and maturity so far this post-season, Skinner added.
“It’s been a process to get to where we are today, and I truly believe we took another step tonight,” he said. “It shows a lot of character in the room.”
Edmonton dropped its first two games of the playoffs to the L.A. Kings, then responded with four straight wins to advance to the second round.
The team then handed the Golden Knights back-to-back losses in Vegas before giving up a last-second goal in Game 3 that cut their series lead to 2-1.
The Golden Knights did not score again.
“I thought we had pockets of really good hockey. That’s a really good hockey team over there,” said Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy. “I thought it was two pretty evenly matched teams, and they found ways to be better than us in certain areas.”
After conceding 24 goals to the Kings over a six-game series, the Oilers gave up just 10 in five games against the Golden Knights.
Improved defence was key to beating Vegas, said veteran blue liner Darnell Nurse.
“I think, for our group, we know that if we want to have any success, it starts with defending. And the offence will come off that,” he said. “And we were more conscious and did a better job of that in this series.”
More improvements will have to be made if Edmonton’s playoff push is going to go the distance, Nurse added.
“This is not the end,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to build our game and continue to be better. Because we have high goals for ourselves.”
Next up, the Oilers will face the winner of a second-round series between the Winnipeg Jets and the Dallas Stars.
The Stars hold a 3-1 lead in the matchup, with Game 5 set to be played Thursday in Dallas.
Edmonton defeated Dallas in six games in last season’s conference final before falling to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final.
Returning to the conference final is exciting, McDavid said.
“We keep putting ourselves in good positions, keep giving ourselves a chance,” he said. “We keep knocking at the door. That’s all you can do, keep giving yourself a chance.”
