PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 6) | Edmonton Oilers (2024)

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The Edmonton Oilers can advance to the Stanley Cup Final with a victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Sunday.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 6:00 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

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Zach speaks to the media Saturday morning from Dallas

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 6)

EDMONTON, AB – These are opportunities that don't come around often.

Win one game on home ice, and you're four away from lifting Lord Stanley.

The Oilers can eliminate the Stars and secure their spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the eighth time in franchise history with a victory on Sunday in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place.

“It's a huge opportunity,” Zach Hyman said. “We've set ourselves up well to have a chance to win this series at home. It was a good lesson in the previous series learning how important Game 5 is, but every team plays their best with their backs against the wall. Dallas is a great team and it's going to be a big test for us.”

The Oilers dropped that Game 5 to the Canucks during the Second Round on a last-minute 3-2 defeat that pushed them to the brink, requiring them to rise to the adversity and rattle off two confident wins in Games 6 & 7 to come from behind and push on to the Western Conference Final.

In this series, the Oilers trailed 2-1 after the Stars showed their resilience on the road during Game 3 to turn an early two-goal lead for Edmonton into a 5-3 win, seizing the momentum before it was stolen back by the Blue & Orange over two collected performances in Games 4 & 5 that've earned them their shot on home ice tonight to move on the Stanley Cup Final.

The excitement of having their crowd behind them inside Rogers Place and around ICE District will only add to the motivation of the Oilers players to carry that into another connected 60-minute effort in front of their own fans on Sunday and give them a first chance to cheer on their team in the Final for the first time since 2006.

"It's a huge advantage," said Zach Hyman before Saturday’s flight back to Edmonton. "I think our building is hard to play in. I don't know how many years it's been since the last Game 6 in Edmonton for a chance to go to the Finals, so it's a huge opportunity. I think the fans recognize that. I think they're excited about it. As a fan, you can't be more excited than a chance to win on home ice, to watch your team play, and I'm sure they're going to be going crazy. So it's exciting for us, too."

“The energy is always high in the playoffs in Edmonton, that's for sure,” Leon Draisaitl added. “I think tomorrow there's probably going to be a different buzz around it, and we're going to enjoy that part. But we obviously have one goal tomorrow night and that's just to play our best game.

"We know they're going to bring their best game, so we've got to make sure we're ready to go.

Leon talks to the media from Dallas before flying to Edmonton

The Oilers enter Sunday's elimination match with a 3-2 series lead following their 3-1 win over the Stars in Game 5 on Wednesday where the power play finally got going in a big way by scoring twice through Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to build themselves a 2-0 lead.

The power play had been 0-for-6 despite generating good chances over the first four games, but No. 93's two tallies were the first with the man advantage for either side in this series and were a major difference in Edmonton coming out as the winning side on Friday at American Airlines Center.

"I think we've been building momentum and building confidence on the power play," Hyman said. "It's tough when you're only getting a couple every game. You've got to make the most of them. Last game we did that, but I liked the way we were moving it. I like the looks that we've been getting. It just hadn't gone in yet and it was nice to get those two."

Philip Broberg's first career playoff goal just over four minutes later provided Edmonton with another massive depth goal in these playoffs to stretch the advantage to 3-0.

Late in the second period, the penalty kill would stretch its successful kill streak to 25 straight to a new franchise record after Stuart Skinner made three high-value stops to instill more confidence in his group heading into the final 20 minutes up by two goals.

"They've been unbelievable. It's fun to watch," Hyman added. "We have a ton of confidence that they're not only going to kill the penalty, but they're going to create some momentum for us. So it's been a huge part of why we're here."

Despite giving up a goal on a rising deflection from Wyatt Johnston in the third, the Oilers capped off their victory with the Dallas net empty and took their deserved 3-2 lead in the series, which has been a product of committing to playing their game for 60 minutes and looking the more dominant team in the last five periods in all aspects.

But with that soaring confidence that a Stanley Cup Final berth is in their grasp comes veteran patience by knowing there are still a few more hard periods ahead, and the theme shouldn't be expected to change from the winner being the team that gets to their game the fastest, for the longest and the most.

"I think we're a confident group like we have been," Hyman said. "Even when we started the season poorly, we were still a confident group, but we still believed in our team and believed in our goal. So there's nothing to be excited about right now. We still have work to do, and I think that's the mentality. It was the mentality going into the year and it's the mentality now. Nothing's changed."

Kris addresses the media from Dallas on Saturday morning