Oilers one win from Cup Final: Game 5 takeaways, early look at Game 6
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars entered Game 5 in Dallas tied 2-2 in their Western Conference finals series. The Oilers beat the Stars 3-1 and will head home up 3-2 with a chance to end the series Sunday.
Here’s what stood out from Edmonton’s win and what to look for in Game 6, including key players for each team.
Oilers grade: A
Even the most optimistic supporters of the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals probably couldn’t have imagined they’d control play and out-defend the Dallas Stars like they did in Game 5. They limited the Stars to four shots on goal in the first period. Dallas went 9:43 without a shot on goal in the second period.
The Oilers were solid in all three zones, got their killer instinct back on the power play and got every save they needed out of Stuart Skinner, who had one of his best games of the postseason.
They squandered a chance to win Game 5 against Vancouver after building a lead. As they’ve done throughout the playoffs, they learned from their mistakes. “You can’t play decent, you can’t play good — you have to play great and you have to do it for a longer period of time than the opposing team were doing it,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.
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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins slaps home his 2nd goal for Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scores his second goal to pad the Oilers’ lead.
Stars grade: D+
Where was the intensity? The feeding off the crowd? The pushback after a Game 4 where the Oilers dominated, as Ekholm put it, for 52 minutes of a 60 minute game.
“The first two periods weren’t good enough. We have to generate more, obviously. And third period, we had some looks, but you’re down three by then,” said center Matt Duchene, who called the Stars’ offense “disjointed.”
Coach Pete DeBoer crudely pushed back when he believed a member of the media was questioning his team’s character after the loss. If only his players showed that much fire.
What we learned in Game 5
That one questionable call can change it all. With 6:09 left in the first period, Stars defenseman Ryan Suter gave Connor McDavid a shove from behind near the boards. McDavid hit the ice and the referee across the zone signaled for a penalty. It was a roughing call that might not rise to the level of a minor penalty in the playoffs.
The Oilers power play was 0-for-6 in the series heading into Game 5. All that meant was that they were due. It took 18 seconds for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to score for the 1-0 lead. The Nuge struck again just 1:06 into the second period after Miro Heiskanen took a delay of game penalty for a 2-0 lead that sucked the wind out of the Stars’ sails — and their home crowd.
“If you’re going to draw a road game, that’s pretty much what you want to do, right?” DeBoer said. “They want to come out, get two power-play goals early in the game, get the lead and then defend well all night. So it’s tough to crack through.”
Players to watch in Game 6
Stuart Skinner. He got a lot of support from a terrific Edmonton defensive effort, but don’t sleep on how Skinner shut the door on the Stars in Game 5 with his 19-save effort.
He robbed Wyatt Johnston on the power play at the end of the second period and flashed his pad to stop a great Logan Stankoven chance later in the game.
He has quietly had a strong series, including 2.2 goals saved above expected in Game 1. He has given up two goals or fewer in four of the five games of the series. As the Stars face elimination, they have to find a way to solve Skinner. You read that correctly.
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Stuart Skinner’s impressive save keeps the Stars scoreless in the 3rd
Oilers’ goalie Stuart Skinner denies the Stars to keep them scoreless in the third period.
Wyatt Johnston. The only player to beat Skinner in Game 5, Johnston now has 10 goals in the postseason for Dallas, four more than any teammate.
The second-year forward has a knack for postseason heroics and the Stars could certainly use some with their back against the wall. A power-play goal would be nice, as Dallas is 0-for-11 in the series with the man advantage.
How good has he been? Johnston became the fifth active player to score 10 goals in a playoff year at age 21 or younger, joining Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009), Nikita Kucherov (10 in 2015), Patrick Kane (10 in 2010) and Evgeni Malkin (10 in 2008).
Big question for Game 6: Can the Dallas offense find cohesion?
The Stars averaged 3.59 goals per game in the regular season. They’ve scored two goals or fewer in their three losses in the conference finals.
Duchene said the Stars aren’t playing as a five-man unit. “It looks like we were on our heels a little too much,” he said. “Sometimes when you want something so bad, you want to try and be too perfect.”
If the Stars can’t find that chemistry, they’ll have all summer to think about what happened to a very good offensive team.
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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