The Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday. It marks the second consecutive year that Edmonton has beaten Dallas to get to the Cup Final, where they will face the Panthers again. Edmonton jumped on Jake Oettinger early, knocking the goalie out of the game. But Dallas cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second period. Connor McDavid took matters into his own hands, scoring to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead. His teammates showered him with praise after the game when speaking with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic.

“Incredible,” Darnell Nurse said. “The big moments, he always steps up and makes such a difference for our team. That was a golden example of a big player making a big play in a big moment.”

“Connor can do that,” Corey Perry declared. “That’s a Connor McDavid kind of play. That’s just the player that he is.”

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Leon Draisaitl had an excellent series as well, with nine points in the five games to help the Oilers advance. Even he admits McDavid is on a different level. “All things considered, my hockey brain goes to (how) that’s one of the nicest goals I’ve seen him score. Just the whole situation, how it played out, who he had coming up behind him – that’s big-time play. There’s only one player in the world who can do that moment, and we’re very fortunate to have him on our side.”

Perry says having two guys like McDavid and Draisaitl helps put the Oilers in this situation. “That’s why he’s the best player in the world, and we have two of those guys on our team. They want to make a difference. They want to be that guy. And they don’t shy away from it.”

The Oilers and Panthers start the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday in Edmonton.