What’s old is new again as the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars are set to meet in the Western Conference Final for the second straight year.
The Stars advanced to the third round of the playoffs Saturday night, beating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime. Earlier in the playoffs, they staved off the Colorado Avalanche in seven games to meet the Jets.
The Oilers and Stars will kick off their series Wednesday night in Dallas, the NHL announced shortly after the Stars’ win.
Edmonton, of course, won four straight games against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round to win in six games, and has been waiting around since Wednesday after dispatching the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
The Oilers and Stars met in the third round last year, which the Oilers won in six games, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2006. That series had its ups and downs for the Oilers, winning Game 1 of the series in double-overtime, before dropping both Games 2 and 3, losing 3-1 and 5-3. But the Oilers roared back, allowing those to be their only two losses in the series, winning Game 4 5-2, Game 5 3-1 and Game 6 2-1.
Edmonton’s depth came up big for them in the series, but so did Stuart Skinner, who outduelled Jake Oettinger. The good news for the Oilers is their depth has arguably been even better this year. Last season through the first two rounds and 12 games, the Oilers only scored five goals when neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl were on the ice, getting outscored 11-5.
This year? The Oilers have scored 18 goals without them on the ice through 10 games, getting outscored 20-18. That’s a massive shift in production, and a big reason why Edmonton is where they are.
And while Skinner was shaky early in the playoffs, dropping the first two games of Edmonton’s playoffs, he’s been lights out since returning in Game 3 against Vegas, going 2-1 with two shutouts, a .944 save percentage and 3.11 goals saved above expected, according to Evolving Hockey, the third most of any goalie over that stretch.
Edmonton will meet a Stars team rolling, with Mikko Rantanen putting up nine goals and 19 points, Thomas Harley — who had the game winner Saturday night — with four goals and 11 points, and Roope Hintz with five goals and 10 points. Jake Oettinger, meanwhile, has stayed strong in the crease, posting a .919 save percentage.
The rivalry between the two teams, of course, dates back to the 1990s when between the 1997 and 2001 playoffs, the two teams met five straight times. Edmonton won the first in 1997, but lost the subsequent four.
