By Basil Stroh
STARS FACE ELIMINATION, OILERS CHASE ANOTHER FINAL BERTH IN GAME 5
The Stars are back home for Game 5 as they look to extend their Conference Finals series against the Oilers, who are on the verge of a second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance.
* Dallas is 4-0 in its past four Game 5s when trailing 3-1 in a series dating to the 2007 Conference Quarterfinals and will look to Mikko Rantanen (9-12—21 in 17 GP), its leading scorer this postseason, to help it see another day in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rantanen (10-7—17 in 13 GP) is one of seven active players with at least 10 career goals in games when facing elimination thanks, in part, to his four-point outing (3-1—4) in Game 7 of the 2025 First Round.
* One of the reasons Edmonton is near another Stanley Cup Final berth is due to the strong play of Stuart Skinner. After starting the postseason with three straight losses, Skinner has ammassed a 5-1 record, posting a .985 save percentage in wins – the highest on record for one postseason – and a 0.39 goals-against average in wins – the lowest in the League’s modern era (since 1943-44) and third-lowest in one playoff year in NHL history (all w/ min. 5 wins). He can join Jonathan Quick (4 in 2014 w/ LAK) as the only goaltenders in NHL history to record multiple series-clinching wins after losing his first three games of that same postseason.
* The Oilers are hoping their offense will also be on display in Game 5 as has been the case for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid throughout the series. Nugent-Hopkins (2-7—9 in 4 GP) can become the second player in NHL history with five consecutive multi-point games to begin a Conference Finals/Semifinals following Wayne Gretzky (5 GP in 1988 CF), while McDavid (42-99—141 in 89 GP) can join ‘The Great One’ on an exclusive list of players with 100 career postseason assists.
COURTESY NHL COMMUNICATIONS
