LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oilers have been the team that didn't seem bothered by giving up four goals because they were more than capable of scoring at least five.
And, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl anchoring the team, Edmonton can still win shootouts.
But winning a Stanley Cup has been elusive because an uncertain defense and shaky goaltending has largely been the Oilers' undoing. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore as they prepare to face Dallas or Winnipeg in the Western Conference final.
The Oilers wrapped up their second-round NHL playoff series by shutting out the Golden Knights over the final six periods of regulation and 7:14 of overtime to win in five games. Vegas, which finished fifth in the regular season with 3.34 goals per game, had trouble generating any kind of offense in those last two games.
The Golden Knights had just a combined 15 high-danger chances in those games, according to Natural Stat Trick, and 37 scoring chances overall.
“I think it was our commitment to not giving up odd-man rushes,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "Vegas is a very good team when it comes to odd-man rushes and capitalizing off of defensive turnovers. We were very conscious of keeping the five guys between our net and the puck and getting above their good-skating defensemen.
“So I think we had a much more conscious effort to get pucks deep and kind of play a simple game and build off that.”
That defense made life considerably easier for beleaguered goalie Stuart Skinner, who was benched just two games into the playoffs after allowing 11 goals in the first two games of the opening series against Los Angeles.
Journeyman Calvin Pickard entered the crease and helped the Oilers roll off six consecutive victories to eliminate the Kings and take early control against the Golden Knights. But Pickard was injured in Game 2 of the Vegas series, and Skinner returned to the net.
His struggles continued in Game 3, allowing four goals to go with an .833 save percentage, and the Golden Knights won their only game — on a Reilly Smith goal with .4 seconds left.
Just throwing the puck on net against a struggling goaltender seemed like a recipe for Vegas to pull out the series victory. Except the Golden Knights didn't get many such chances, their entries into the offensive zone disrupted and their space to operate once there negated.
“I think the last two nights we defended pretty well in front of (Skinner)," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Was it perfect? No. Were there some chances? Definitely. He came up big the last two nights.”
Or, as McDavid put it about Skinner, “Hopefully, it shuts a lot of people up talking about him.”
Skinner or Pickard, if he's back, will be tested in the next series and will go against a team with an elite goalie, be it Jake Oettinger of the Stars or Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets.
Maybe these back-to-back performances will serve Skinner well.
“Being able to come back in no matter what the scenario was and being able to have the resiliency in me is something I can be proud of,” Skinner said. “So much of it has to do with how the guys are playing in front of me. The way they've played ever since I've come back in is impressive.”
Not just for Skinner, but for the entire Oilers team, beating Vegas had the added benefit of revenge in what is becoming one of the Western Conference's top rivalries.
The Golden Knights kept the Oilers from getting out of the second round two years ago, and it was Vegas that wound up lifting the Stanley Cup. The Oilers made it to the final last year only to lose in seven games to Florida, but they didn't have to get past the Golden Knights.
This time, Edmonton did and in commanding fashion.
“There's probably a lot of people that thought it was going to go longer than five (games) and probably not a lot of people that thought we would win,” McDavid said. “It's nice to keep on rolling, to keep on proving people wrong. We've got a lot of belief in this room. It's fun to be part of.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Edmonton Oilers right wing Vasily Podkolzin (92) checks Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) during the first period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
