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SportsPulse, USA TODAY
Thirty years have passed since the last Canadian team, the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, won the Stanley Cup.
That drought will continue after the Vegas Golden Knights knocked out the Oilers in Edmonton with a 5-2 victory in Game 6 on Sunday night to reach the Western Conference final. A Canadian team had reached at least the third round in the last two postseasons.
The Golden Knights, who missed the playoffs last season, are heading to the third round for the fourth time since they joined the league in 2017-18.
Jonathan Marchessault scored three consecutive goals in the second period as the Golden Knights rallied after Edmonton had taken a 2-1 first-period lead on goals by Connor McDavid and Warren Foegele.
“We definitely have a good thing going on. We’re just halfway through our goal here,” Marchessault told ESPN. “We got the win here against probably one of the best teams in the league and we’ve got to keep it going.”
What’s next for the Golden Knights?
They’ll have home-ice advantage against the Dallas Stars or Seattle Kraken, who play Monday night in Game 7 in Dallas.
If it’s Seattle, it will be a meeting of the league’s most recent expansion teams. If it’s Dallas, the Golden Knights will go up against Peter DeBoer, the coach they fired in the offseason and replaced with Bruce Cassidy.
The Golden Knights missed the postseason last season because of major injuries. This season, they were the Western Conference’s top team despite major injuries in net. Adin Hill, who made 38 saves on Sunday and is 3-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .934 save percentage, will be the goaltender in the conference final after replacing injured Laurent Brossoit in the second round.
Jack Eichel is the team’s leading scorer in his first appearance in the playoffs. Captain Mark Stone has been a force after returning from injury. Marchessault scored all five of his goals in the second round and has six points in his last two games. The Golden Knights are a deep, dangerous team.
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What’s next for the Edmonton Oilers?
They took a step back after reaching the conference final last season.
“Obviously when you start a season, you’re in it to win it … and if you don’t complete that, it just feels like a failure or a wasted year almost,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl told reporters. “Yeah, it hurts.”
But the Oilers will remain a force because of the presence of Hart Trophy finalist McDavid, who had the league’s best season since the 1990s, and Draisaitl (13 playoff goals). The team had three 100-point scorers (also Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), plus a record-setting power play.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard will get a big raise after taking the point on that power play after the trade of Tyson Barrie and getting 17 points in 12 playoff games. Trade deadline acquisition Mattias Ekholm is signed for another three seasons.
Unrestricted free agents include Nick Bjugstad and Mattias Janmark.
Jack Campbell struggled in net after arriving as a free agent, but that allowed Stuart Skinner to emerge as a rookie of the year finalist.
