Edmonton Oilers

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews has won the 2021-22 Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL's most outstanding player, beating out Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid and Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi for the honor.

Game recognize game 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/6eE2DldV7i

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 21, 2022

Auston Matthews is the fourth different player in as many years to claim the Ted Lindsay Award. #NHLAwards
#NHLStats: https://t.co/tiJSAV0sNF pic.twitter.com/hGe25nEAPT

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) June 21, 2022

Matthews is the first Maple Leaf and only the second United States-born player to win the award after Patrick Kane.

The 24-year-old also won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer for the second straight season and won the Hart Trophy as the player viewed to be the most valuable to his team.

Matthews tallied a career-high 60 goals and 46 assists for 106 points in 73 games. He also recorded 19.2 percent of Toronto's goals, which helped the team finish second in the Atlantic Division with a 54-21-7 record and reach the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

The San Ramon, California native finished first in the NHL averaging 0.82 goals per game. It was the highest per-game rate for any player since Mario Lemieux averaged 0.99 goals per game in 1995-96. In addition, he finished first in the league with 44 even-strength goals.

The Maple Leafs selected Matthews first overall in the 2016 NHL draft, and he has been a staple in their lineup ever since. He won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie in 2016-17 after finishing with 40 goals and 29 assists for 69 points in 82 games and has also earned one All-Star selection.

In 407 career games, Matthews has had 259 goals and 198 assists for 457 points. He is under contract with Toronto through the 2023-24 season at $11.6 million per year.

The Eastern Conference Final was billed as a battle of the two best goaltenders in the world, while the Western Conference Final featured two of the best forwards in the world.

On Monday night, Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche bested Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, just as many predicted.

It's not that MacKinnon is better than McDavid—though he might have a claim to being the second-best player in the world—but the Avalanche are built to win and built to win now. The Oilers overcame poor roster construction and a midseason coaching change to get to this point, but their season is over after Colorado completed the swept with a 6-5 overtime victory.

An Avs win always felt inevitable. They proved they belong in the Stanley Cup Final by stepping on the throats of their opponents and not letting up, from their opening series against the Nashville Predators to their second-round win versus the St. Louis Blues. After years of playoff disappointment, the narrative around the team has shifted as the Avalanche have exorcised playoff demons and shown they know how to win when it counts, and done so convincingly.

Artturi Lehkonen scored the overtime winner—which was fitting since he scored the overtime winner that sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Cup Final last year—but Cale Makar set it up with a rocket of a shot from the point, which was maybe even more fitting given how Makar has driven this team through the postseason.

The defenseman had a five-point night to bring his total to 22. His 17.43 expected goals in the postseason trail only McDavid's 20.68. He was named a Norris Trophy finalist for his incredible production in the regular season, and he's looked every bit as good in the postseason. He might be the best two-way defenseman in the league, and he proved that by being matched up with McDavid shift by shift.

Colorado has a deep defense corps outside of Makar and his partner, Devon Toews. The Avalanche lost Samuel Girard in the second round when he broke his sternum against the Blues, but Bowen Byram, who missed so much of the last few seasons with concussion issues, has been having a breakout postseason.

Per Corey Sznajder, the Avs blueliners have proved to be adept at evading pressure and avoiding turnovers.

Puck retrievals were the main category I added to my tracking this year. It's another way to look at zone eixts, but more of how good defensemen are at evading pressure to make plays or avoid turnovers. Not a surprise to see Colorado as the leader in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/wmxUiuoucy

— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) June 6, 2022

And the defensemen had to be good, especially against McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But the Oilers provided help in that regard, particularly in net.

Despite a characteristically dominant performance by McDavid and an unreal performance by a clearly hobbled Draisaitl, Edmonton was undone by inconsistent goaltending from Mike Smith and by a much deeper Colorado roster.

It's unfortunate that fans will have to wait yet another year to see if McDavid and Draisaitl can make it to a Stanley Cup Final, and it's maddening for fans in Alberta to see a team with world-class players continually come up short. There were times during this run that it felt like McDavid was singlehandedly winning games, dragging the Oilers from series to series.

Edmonton now has a lot of time off to figure out where to go next. General manager Ken Holland has to make a decision about interim coach Jay Woodcroft, and it's unlikely the club will be able to afford Evander Kane. The Oilers lack depth and a No. 1 goaltender and are in deep trouble with the salary cap.

That's a story for another day. For now, the focus is on Colorado.

While the Avs have been impressive, they're also banged up, and their depth will be tested in the Cup Final. Nazem Kadri was injured in Game 3, and it's unlikely he will play another game this season. He was making a case to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

But the biggest question for the Avalanche in the next round is arguably goaltending. It's been an eventful postseason for netminders all over the league, and Colorado hasn't been immune to the drama. Darcy Kuemper was injured during Game 1 and missed Games 2-4.

Pavel Francouz recorded a shutout in Game 3 but allowed five goals in Game 4. Kuemper was able to back him up, which was a promising sign, and the time off will be beneficial.

A year ago, MacKinnon lamented Colorado's lack of postseason success in a sullen news conference. The desire to rewrite the narrative has helped power the Avs to the top, which is where a team with two top-five players belongs.

All they have to do now is finish the job to secure the legacy.

It's a sad day in Alberta's capital city.

Flags are coming down. Wagers are being paid. Beards are being shaved.

Because the Edmonton Oilers didn't win the Stanley Cup.

After a gut-wrenching 6-5 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final completed an inglorious weeklong sweep, the franchise in the NHL's northernmost city won't be having a parade.

IT'S OVER. LEHKONEN SENDS THE AVS TO THE #STANLEYCUP FINAL https://t.co/dreQ4bNZWD

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 7, 2022

It's been 31 consecutive seasons since the franchise last hoisted the Stanley Cup when the team won its fifth title in seven years.

So for fans of a certain age, it’s just another unsatisfying spring in the “City of (Ex-)Champions.”

Still, it seems a little different this time around.

Rather than compiling post-mortems with more laundry lists of reasons the team can't win as currently constructed, those closest to the group are actually suggesting (gasp!) optimism.

Not surprisingly, the biggest reasons wear uniform Nos. 97 and 29.

Though the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl captured four scoring titles, three MVPs and four Ted Lindsay Awards, they managed to win just eight playoff games—and one playoff series—across their first six seasons of playing together since McDavid was picked No. 1 overall in 2015.

Certainly shy of the four banners that Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier hung before their partnership ended in 1988.

But stirring series wins over the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames this spring created the momentum to suggest it can happen again—at least once because they're still a pretty good pair.

Even after a four-game erasure by the Avalanche, both McDavid (33) and Draisaitl (32) are still well ahead in the league's playoff scoring race thanks to the cartoonish rate at which they'd produced against the Kings and Flames.

Most points in a playoff year without making it to the #StanleyCup Final:
35- Doug Gilmour (TOR, 1993)
33- Connor McDavid (@EdmontonOilers in 2022 via 10 goals & 23 assists)
33- Rick Middleton (BOS, 1983)
32- Leon Draisaitl (EDM in 2022 via 7G-25A)
32- Barry Pederson (BOS, 1983) pic.twitter.com/su1HvP2zTn

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) June 7, 2022

That clip was on the heels of an equally absurd season in which they’d finished first and fourth in the league with a combined 233 total points.

And the best news? They’re no longer alone.

Individual accolades notwithstanding, the uptick in Edmontonian positivity has more than a little to do with the sturdier supporting cast assembled by embattled general manager Ken Holland.

Winger Zach Hyman was brought in on a seven-year, $38.5 million deal last summer and paid off with career-highs in goals (27) and points (54).

Evander Kane was plucked from the NHL bargain bin in late January and scored 35 goals in 58 regular and postseason games.

Minor-league coach Jay Woodcroft arrived after Dave Tippett was fired on February 10, and the Oilers responded with a 26-9-3 record down the stretch. It included a 14-0-1 run across the final 15 home games, as the Oilers set a new franchise record for consecutive games with a point at home.

In fact, Woodcroft's eight playoff wins are already tied for fifth in Edmonton's coaching history.

"A little bit of a younger voice," McDavid said of his head coach to the Canadian Press (h/t TheStar.com).

“He’s brought a lot of energy and a lot of passion to the job. We fed off that. The message he preaches is something that I think we all agree with. Something that we all can buy into.”

Woodcroft's bond with youngsters Ryan McLeod (two goals against Colorado) and Dylan Holloway (NHL debut in Game 4 of the WCF) was forged in the AHL and makes them vital to Edmonton as it heads into an important offseason. The Oilers have an onerous salary cap situation ($7.1 million) and uncertainty in goal and on defense.

Defensemen Evan Bouchard, 22, and Philip Broberg, 20, could be promoted to full-time, too, potentially giving the team nine of its own first-round picks in the everyday lineup.

The prolific Kane warrants a big boost from the prorated $1.38 million he made with the Oilers through season's end. Meanwhile, McLeod, Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto are due for raises as restricted free agents alongside decisions to be made on another eight with unrestricted status.

A deep, skilled Colorado team revealed Edmonton's soft blue line, with an average of 43.0 shots allowed—following a season with a rate of 32.3 shots (12th-most in the NHL) and overall playoffs with an average of 38.9 shots (fourth-most)—that simultaneously magnified questions in the net.

Forty-year-old starter Mike Smith was statistically sound—2.81 goals-against average and .915 save percentage—for a second straight regular season.

But his inconsistency was never more apparent than in a series-defining Game 3 when a number of spectacular saves were followed by a game-winning goal by third-line center J.T. Compher that trickled through his legs with 7:18 remaining.

He allowed six goals on 42 shots in the finale—including four in the third period—and finished with a pedestrian .872 save percentage and a downright ugly 5.57 goals-against average. On the flip side, Avalanche backup Pavel Francouz posted a .908 and a 2.81 GAA.

Smith is signed for one more season at $2.2 million, while backup Mikko Koskinen's three-year, $13.5 million deal is expiring. Holland will either have to stand pat and give AHL stalwart Stuart Skinner a shot at the full-time job after a 14-game audition or swing a deal to bring in an established commodity.

It's a lot for a GM, particularly one who's 66, to contend with.

And if he doesn't make the right choices, it won't be long before familiar fan angst returns.

But while the season's practical result was similar—no Cup, again—a surprise run to the league's final four and the continued prolific presence of the world's best player go a long way toward exorcising a generation of demons.

It also provided Holland with some additional time to keep the good vibes going.

The Colorado Avalanche are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001.

Colorado completed its sweep of the Edmonton Oilers with a dramatic 6-5 overtime victory in Monday's Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. Artturi Lehkonen buried the overtime winner, and the Avalanche will now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.

IT'S OVER. LEHKONEN SENDS THE AVS TO THE #STANLEYCUP FINAL https://t.co/dreQ4bNZWD

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 7, 2022

It seemed for much of the game like the Oilers were going to prevent a celebration on their home ice.

Leon Draisaitl battled through injuries in a gutsy and inspiring performance to finish with four assists. Connor McDavid had two goals and one assist, while Zach Hyman scored twice. It should have been enough offense to win, but goaltender Mike Smith gave up three goals in under six minutes in the third period and the winner in overtime.

That collapse drew plenty of ridicule from social media:

https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/1534002450226716672

At some point, your goalie needs to make a save

— Dan Riccio (@danriccio_) June 7, 2022

honestly gotta respect Mike Smith for getting burned basically every time he steps a single toe outside his crease but still continuing to do it every single game no matter the stakes. a stubborn king.

— Mike Stephens (@mikeystephens81) June 7, 2022

“3 goals on 5 shots in 5:49 for the Avalanche”

Mike Smith is awesome @nickmaraldo

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 7, 2022

Edmonton in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/tHxVYFetUk

— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) June 7, 2022

Stop what you’re doing and turn on Avs/Oilers. Everyone’s locked in! Except maybe the goalies.

— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) June 7, 2022

https://twitter.com/billdifilippo/status/1533998997727240194

Mike Smith was NOT happy after the Avs cut Edmonton's lead again 😅 https://t.co/mgzFLj3Ljy

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 7, 2022

The hockey community watching Mike Smith melt down… pic.twitter.com/jqduNuKvt1

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) June 7, 2022

The M in Mike Smith stands for Meltdown

— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) June 7, 2022

you won’t believe it but mike smith is mad at someone other than himself

— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) June 7, 2022

https://twitter.com/eplerjc/status/1534010790377771008

Edmonton's collapse was a primary storyline, but the Avalanche deserve plenty of credit on the other side. It would have been easy to just look ahead to Game 5 at home with a 3-1 lead after they fell behind by multiple goals, but the unstoppable attack continued to put pressure on Smith.

Cale Makar finished with one goal and four assists in an unbelievable performance, while Gabriel Landeskog and Lehkonen each had three points on one goal and two assists.

Colorado will be facing better goaltending in the Stanley Cup Final, but it will be difficult to stop the Avalanche if they continue playing at such a high level.

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky's jersey from his final game with the Edmonton Oilers—a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins to clinch the 1988 Stanley Cup—has sold on Grey Flannel Auctions for $1.45 million.

Wayne Gretzky’s last game-used Oilers jersey, matched to the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals, sells tonight on @GF_Auctions for $1.45 million. pic.twitter.com/h6mah2htAC

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 6, 2022

Per ESPN's Dan Hajducky, it is the most money ever spent on a hockey jersey.

Gretzky posted 40 goals and 109 assists on the 1987-88 Oilers, who went 16-2 in the playoffs en route to their fourth Stanley Cup title. He put up 12 goals and 31 assists in the postseason and won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his efforts.

Three months after the season, the Oilers traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. The "Great One" finished his 20-year career in 1999 as the NHL leader in career goals scored, assists and points.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane has been suspended one game for boarding Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri.

The play occurred early in Game 3 of the Avs' Western Conference Final series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Evander Kane was given a 5-minute major for boarding on this hit on Nazem Kadri. #StanleyCup | #LetsGoOilers | #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/xRv9dN2WQs

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 5, 2022

Kane received a five-minute major penalty.

Kadri is out for at least the remainder of the Western Conference Final because of an undisclosed injury, per Avs head coach Jared Bednar (h/t Peter Baugh of The Athletic).

According to Gene Principe of Sportsnet, Kadri was seen with a soft cast on his right wrist Sunday.

The Avalanche lead the best-of-seven series three games to none after a 4-2 win over the Oilers on Saturday. Game 4 will take place on Monday at 8 p.m. ET in Edmonton.

Kadri is a big loss for the Avs. The 31-year-old has been sensational in this year's playoffs with six goals and eight assists in 13 games. He notably had the primary assist on the Avs' first three goals in a 4-0 win over Edmonton in Game 2.

Kane won't be easy to replace either. The 30-year-old dominated in limited action this year with 22 goals and 17 assists in 43 games. That's in addition to his NHL-high 13 goals in this season's playoffs.

Ultimately, the Oilers' backs are against the wall down 3-0. While not impossible, a comeback is unlikely against the Western Conference's top seed this year. The question for the Avs is the state of Kadri's health come Stanley Cup time.

It's unclear when the Final will take place until the New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning series nears its conclusion. Right now, the Blueshirts hold a 2-1 series edge with Game 4 set for Tuesday. But Kadri would be a tough loss if he's forced to miss any Stanley Cup time.

For now, both teams need to regroup without their productive forwards as the Western Conference Final moves on.

The Edmonton Oilers fell at home to the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday at Rogers Place, and fans aren't happy with the play of goaltender Mike Smith.

After the Oilers tied the game 2-2 in the third period on a goal from Ryan McLeod, Avs forward J.T. Compher scored what went on to be the game-winning goal just minutes later.

After Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard rung a shot off the post on the power play, Compher raced out of the penalty box, fended off Bouchard to grab the puck and fired it past Smith from the dot.

It's a shot that Smith likely should have stopped. Instead, the puck squeaked through his legs and trickled into the back of the net.

J. T. Compher jumps out of the penalty box and gives the Avalanche the lead again 🚨pic.twitter.com/AnmIrGWonN

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) June 5, 2022

There is no middle ground with Mike Smith. It’s straight up hot or cold.

— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) June 5, 2022

Mike Smith’s gonna end the postseason with the most inexplicable .920 I can ever recall. I won’t even believe the number.

— Travis Yost (@travisyost) June 5, 2022

Mike Smith just can't let that in. What an absolute backbreaker.

— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) June 5, 2022

https://twitter.com/Pulped_/status/1533259431227498496

https://twitter.com/NickSuzukisNose/status/1533275975718510592

https://twitter.com/nooch99/status/1533276972452831233

my favourite thing about Mike Smith is how he always looks around angrily after a goal as if he was prevented from making the save by a vengeful spirit only he can see

— also katie (@marnylandersen) June 5, 2022

The Mike Smith Experience: pic.twitter.com/Ns2T69FzmS

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 5, 2022

The Mike Smith keepeth you in the game and the Mike Smith giveth up some of the softest goals known to man. The greatest enigma.

— UrinatingTree (@UrinatingTree) June 5, 2022

Mike Smith has given up two of the worst goals I’ve ever seen from an NHL goalie in this postseason.

— Matt Maisel (@Matt_Maisel) June 5, 2022

Mike Smith just absolutely ruining this series for the oilers

— s (@sarahhthetaurus) June 5, 2022

Smith, as many fans have put it, has been a rollercoaster for the Oilers this postseason. He has made some incredible saves, but he has also let in some dreadful goals and could ultimately be the reason Edmonton fails to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Smith entered Saturday's game with an 8-4 record in the postseason, including a .916 save percentage and two shutouts. However, he hasn't been great against the Avs, posting a .846 save percentage over the first two games of the series. And though he saved 39-of-42 shots (.929 save percentage) in Game 3, he failed to make the most important stop of the night.

If the Oilers are going to extend this series, they're going to need Smith to play more consistently. Mikko Koskinen has posted an 0-2 record and an .897 goals-against average this postseason, leaving Smith as the best option in an elimination game.

The Oilers enter Monday's Game 4 in a must-win situation and likely won't see Game 5 unless Smith or Koskinen come up big.

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers may have scored two more goals.

Tuesday's Game 1 of the Western Conference Final was a track meet on ice that Colorado won 8-6. The Avalanche's attack overwhelmed Edmonton's defense from the start, and they are now three wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final since 2001.

A high-scoring game wasn't exactly surprising with the star power in a series featuring Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, but few probably envisioned five combined goals in the first period and six combined goals in the second period.

Social media could barely keep up with the pace:

Oilers-Avalanche is just going to be two weeks of making goalies feel bad about themselves

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) June 1, 2022

#obligatory pic.twitter.com/9HXqp3VTdX

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 1, 2022

We need seven games of Oilers vs. Avalanche. This game is ELECTRIC.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 1, 2022

Oilers are fast but Avs look like team of Usain Bolts in first 15 mins. There is no snow in Avs' net as cleaning crew comes out at stoppage

— Jim Matheson (@jimmathesonnhl) June 1, 2022

Wow. Did you guys see that goal in the Avs/Oilers game? Don’t worry. If you missed it there’ll be another in about 11 seconds.

— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) June 1, 2022

What the hell are you supposed to do when it's Makar to Toews to MacKinnon, end to end, like that? Christ.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 1, 2022

My God, Nathan MacKinnon. Freaky, filthy display of speed and hands!! How many on the planet can make that play?!! @Avalanche up early. #EDMvsCOL

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) June 1, 2022

The Colorado Avalanche are playing downhill, I am the first person to ever tweet this

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) June 1, 2022

show this hockey game to anybody who is not a hockey fan and tell them they're all like this

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 1, 2022

https://twitter.com/minter/status/1531793816709222400

Avalanche-Oilers is already electric!

5 combined goals in the 1st period. We're in for a fun series 🍿 pic.twitter.com/bwjwX5mNBl

— Buzzer (@buzzer) June 1, 2022

https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/1531810188646395904

Oilers and Avs goalies tonight 🤣 @BR_OpenIce pic.twitter.com/OyhMOQpgns

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 1, 2022

In a contest where seemingly everyone stuffed the stat sheet, J.T. Compher (two goals) and Cale Makar (one goal and two assists) stood out for Colorado, while McDavid (one goal and two assists) did for Edmonton.

The first period saw Evander Kane open the scoring just for Compher to answer in a mere 36 seconds. That was far longer than Makar needed when he responded to Zach Hyman's goal with one of his own just nine seconds later. The Makar goal was somewhat controversial because of an offside review, but it stood.

Intermission didn't cool down the respective offenses, as goals from Nazem Kadri, Ryan McLeod, Mikko Rantanen and Compher in the first seven minutes of the second period made it 6-3.

JT COMPHER GETS IT RIGHT BACK FOR THE AVS 🔥 https://t.co/3suspezeZF

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

MacKinnon with the soft mitts 👀🧤 https://t.co/GgVjkYiTLW

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

This one COUNTS!

The Avs take back the lead 5 seconds after the Oilers tied the game 😳 https://t.co/z8zZz3xlQH

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

GOALS ON GOALS ON GOALS 🚨 https://t.co/Bok7LjgCDD

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

COMPHER AGAIN. 6-3 Avs and Mike Smith will leave the game 😳 https://t.co/JM4pUohtuB

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

Draisaitl and McDavid connect to try to get the Oilers back in this one 😤 https://t.co/sopY7BkXaK

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

IT'S 7-6. THIS IS NOT A DRILL 😱 https://t.co/jcEHCnm9YB

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 1, 2022

The second period also marked the end of the day for both goaltenders with Edmonton pulling Mike Smith for Mikko Koskinen and Colorado inserting Pavel Francouz because Darcy Kuemper suffered an upper-body injury. McDavid managed a goal against the backup, but the Avalanche still led 7-4 heading to the third.

Nothing about Tuesday's game was straightforward, though, so it followed that Derek Ryan and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored to make it 7-6 and put all the pressure on Colorado's side in the closing stretch.

However, Gabriel Landeskog's empty-netter ended the tension for the victors, who will look to defend home ice once again in Thursday's Game 2.

Connor McDavid continued his remarkable playoff run with an overtime goal Thursday night to eliminate the Calgary Flames and punch the Edmonton Oilers' ticket to the Western Conference Finals.

It just had to be Connor. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/HXXA3eNCIa

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 27, 2022

If McDavid hadn't already established himself as the NHL's best player before this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, he's done it over the past month with 26 points (seven goals and 19 assists) in 12 postseason games to put the Oilers within eight wins of a title.

Hall of Fame winger Teemu Selanne is among those who've taken notice:

👏👏👏NHL playoffs have been exactly as good as we thought, so many unbelievable games and so many great players playing 💪💪💪 and how good is Connor McDavid,his body language is that he is willing to win the games by himself if he has to ,by far the best player in this planet😊

— Teemu Selanne (@TeemuSel8nne) May 27, 2022

Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic analyzed McDavid's performance before Game 5. He determined the 25-year-old center is on pace for 11.2 wins of value in the playoffs, which would be the highest mark of the current era (since 2008) and puts him closer to the more heavily involved NBA superstars than his own NHL counterparts.

"Connor McDavid is in god mode," Luszczyszyn wrote.

Those comments proved prophetic as the two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner ended Calgary's season and sent Edmonton to the conference finals for the first time since 2006.

Here's a look at some other reaction to McDavid's latest highlight-reel moment:

"Hard to put into words what that one meant to me."

McDavid on the goal that sent the #Oilers to the third round. pic.twitter.com/HHXVlGpqAK

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 27, 2022

Just happened to be walking by when McDavid entered the Oilers dressing room. The room went nuts when he made his entrance.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 27, 2022

McDavid is a monster.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) May 27, 2022

McDavid has been on the ice for 38 goals for in the playoffs in 261:41 of TOI.
STL has 38 goals in 671 min.
NYR has 37 in 773 min.
TB has 36 in 678 min
CGY has 35 in 735 min.
CAR has 33 in 723 min.
FLO scored 23 in 607 min
COL only team with more, 40 goals, in 560 min.

— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) May 27, 2022

https://twitter.com/avatarrant/status/1530052158195961856

I do not watch hockey and it is so easy to figure out who Connor McDavid is. This cat is fast as all get out and every player on Calgary is constantly trying to punch him in the face.

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) May 27, 2022

How about my @EdmontonOilers? Do you believe in God @cmcdavid97 yet? What more proof do you need? The Cup? Ok don’t worry, it’s coming… https://t.co/Z9KpiQJQjZ

— Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) May 27, 2022

Connor McDavid is having the most impressive postseason I’ve ever witnessed.

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) May 27, 2022

@cmcdavid97 the goat @SamAdekugbe 😂😂😂😂😂 4-1 “game over” “Edmonton win” “flawless victory” (mortal combat voice) 😂😂

— Alphonso Davies (@AlphonsoDavies) May 27, 2022

Thank You Hockey Gods for giving us the Battle of Alberta & thank you for blessing us with Connor McDavid.

— Carlo Colaiacovo (@CarloColaiacovo) May 27, 2022

The Oilers advance to face either the Colorado Avalanche or St. Louis Blues in the penultimate round. The Avs hold a 3-2 advantage in that series.

A showdown between McDavid and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon would be must-see TV.

Just two weeks ago, with his Edmonton Oilers facing elimination against a lower-seeded and perceived inferior Los Angeles Kings team, stories about Connor McDavid debated exactly how long he'd put up with chronic playoff disappointment in the league's northernmost outpost.

Blow it up. Move him out. Let the league's best player perform on a worthwhile stage.

Funny how quickly a narrative can change.

Fast-forward 14 days, and after dispatching the Calgary Flames in five games—capping off the series with an overtime winner—No. 97 is reveling in a final four spotlight.

Finally.

Long the star of the internet's most clicked-upon highlights—and collector of enough summertime hardware to stock a scrap yard—McDavid is finally within hailing distance of a Stanley Cup.

And if his first 12 games this postseason are prelude, we'll see his legend continue to grow in the coming weeks and further justify the lofty comparisons he's drawn since his days as a prospect.

McDavid was a few months past his ninth birthday the last time the Oilers reached this stage of the postseason, got plucked first overall at the NHL draft nine years later and helped the Oilers get to a second-round date with Anaheim in 2017 that started with a pair of road wins but eventually ended in a seventh-game disappointment.

He signed an eight-year, $100 million extension that summer, and optimism was high that the team would grow around its precocious star the way the Wayne Gretzky-led teams had in the early 1980s.

Even Edmonton Journal columnist Terry Jones was all-in on the positive vibe.

"It's a good thing the Ducks won this one," he wrote on May 10, 2017, "because chances are it's going to be a while before teams are going to be beating the Edmonton Oilers in a playoff series.

"Orange Crush Era is just beginning."

Or, well…not so much.

Though he and running mate Leon Draisaitl have combined for five scoring titles, three MVPs and four Ted Lindsay Awards, the team has been more pedestrian than prolific when it comes to challenging the four banners Gretzky and Mark Messier hung before their partnership ended in 1988.

In fact, before the current run, the Oilers won far more games in those 2016-17 playoffs (7) than they had in two appearances since (1) while never coming close to a second-round berth.

And if you think that didn't concern the NHL's powers that be, think again.

Though he's hardly the league's only marquee player, it was certainly a disappointment to see its most productive athlete annually relegated to irrelevance during championship season.

Imagine Michael Jordan in Sacramento. Or Patrick Mahomes in Jacksonville.

Doesn't move the needle much, does it?

But now, thanks certainly to a sturdier supporting cast than he'd had in past years—including free-agent pickups Evander Kane and Zach Hyman, among others—McDavid can draw mainstream attention to the exploits he'd largely been performing in the shadows.

Here's a tip: The kid's pretty good.

He produced a preposterous 105 points in 56 games in 2020-21—a per-game average (1.875) bested by exactly six players in 50 years—before leveling up to a career-high 123 while playing all but two of 82 games this season. And believe it or not, it's been even better since crunch time began.

His 26 points in 12 games are at least 10 more than anyone not sharing his locker room this spring and compute to 2.17 per game, which is fifth-highest in history for players with double-digit games in a single playoff run. The only players to post higher marks are Mario Lemieux and Gretzky.

It's the stuff of legendary comparisons.

And the more eye-popping his feats, the more valid those comparisons become.

At 6'1", 193 pounds, McDavid is a smidge taller and heavier than Gretzky in his prime, and he's added a physicality to his game—though clearly a few notches below enforcer—that No. 99 never had.

He's also a three-time winner of the Fastest Skater competition during All-Star Weekend festivities, which wasn't around during Gretzky's best years but wasn't his greatest strength anyway compared to a uniquely spectacular instinct that allowed him to see plays develop and get to the right spots.

The game has changed to the point where there's no real shot McDavid approaches his predecessor's statistics—in fact, Gretzky's 92 goals and 215 points in separate seasons still seem otherworldly about 40 years later—but it's reasonable to suggest no player in the NHL (and maybe pro sports as a whole) has created a bigger chasm between he and his peer group over the last two seasons.

Despite differences in their skills, styles and eras, the gap between the two superstars and everyone else on the ice with them mandates their names in the same sentences with increasing regularity. McDavid has a long way to go before his accolades and team success approach Gretzky's, but his remarkable play in the first two rounds suggests the gap won't stay so wide much longer.

Sit back and enjoy the show, hockey fans.

It's one of those you'll brag to your grandkids about.