The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup Final for the eighth time in franchise history and first since 2006.
Edmonton booked its trip with a 2-1 victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday, winning the best-of-7 series 4-2.
The Oilers will play the Florida Panthers in the Cup Final; Game 1 is Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC). Florida reached the Final for the second straight season after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final.
Edmonton has not won the Stanley Cup since 1990.
Although they were considered championship contenders heading into the 2023-24 NHL season, the Oilers’ road to the Final was unconventional.
Edmonton got off to a 2-9-1 start and fell into a tie for last place in the NHL standings on Nov. 9. The Oilers made a coaching change three days later, hiring Kris Knoblauch to take over for Jay Woodcroft. Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey joined Knoblauch as an assistant.
With Knoblauch as coach, Edmonton went 46-18-5, which included a 16-game winning streak, one shy of the all-time record set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93.
The Oilers (49-27-6) finished second in the Pacific Division, five points behind the Vancouver Canucks. They eliminated the Los Angeles Kings (five games) and Canucks (seven games) in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the conference final.
It was the eighth conference title for Edmonton, which has won the Stanley Cup five times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990).
Here are some of the highlights for the Oilers on the road to the Stanley Cup Final:
