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Oilers bounce Stars, clinch finals rematch vs. Panthers

Corey Perry of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates with teammate Connor McDavid after scoring.  (Getty Images/AFP)
Corey Perry of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates with teammate Connor McDavid after scoring. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 30 May 2025

Oilers bounce Stars, clinch finals rematch vs. Panthers

Oilers bounce Stars, clinch finals rematch vs. Panthers
  • The Oilers now get another rematch, against defending Stanley Cup champion Florida after a seven-game series last June

The Edmonton Oilers get their shot at revenge in the Stanley Cup Final after claiming a 6-3 road victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday to close out the Western Conference finals.
Connor McDavid collected one goal and one assist as the Oilers dispatched the Stars in five games in the best-of-seven series and set up a rematch of last year’s finals against the Panthers, won by Florida in seven games.
Game 1 will be Wednesday at Edmonton.
Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen also scored for the Oilers, who have won 12 of their last 14 playoff games and eliminated the Stars in the conference finals for the second consecutive year.
Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made 14 saves.
Jason Robertson scored twice and Roope Hintz tallied once for Dallas, which has lost out in the Stanley Cup chase in the third round three straight years. Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley each recorded two assists.
Starting Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled after surrendering goals on the first two shots he faced. Casey DeSmith made 17 saves in relief.
Sensing their chance to close out the series, the Oilers staked an early 3-0 lead. Perry opened the scoring at 2:31 when he redirected McDavid’s centering pass for the power-play marker.
On Perry’s goal, McDavid collected his 100th career playoff assist in his 90th game, the second fastest player to hit the century mark for postseason helpers, behind only Wayne Gretzky (70 games).
Janmark doubled the lead at 7:09 by sliding home a breakaway chance. Jeff Skinner — playing his first game since the playoff opener — made it a 3-0 affair by banging home a rebound tally 58 seconds later for his first career playoff goal.
The Stars pushed back but could not draw even. Robertson scored for the third consecutive game when he gained a loose puck in the slot and rang a shot off the post and in at 11:40 of the opening frame.
Hintz made it a one-goal game with a power-play one-timer from the slot at 12:27 of the second period.
However, McDavid restored Edmonton’s two-goal lead two minutes later with a breakaway tally.
Robertson’s second of the game, a five-hole shot off the rush, again brought the Stars within one goal 38 seconds into the third period.
Kane responded at 3:21 of the period when his pass attempt banked off a defender and into the net to make it 5-3. Kapanen’s empty-net goal in the last minute rounded out the scoring.
Dallas failed to record a shot on goal in the final 16:17 of the game.


Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead

Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead
Updated 08 November 2025

Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead

Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead
  • He described the shot after the round, which left him at a 14-under 130 through 36 holes and tied with Fleetwood
  • To maintain a share of the lead, Fleetwood mixed seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 66 following his opening-round 64

ABU DHABI: Aaron Rai holed his approach shot from 218 yards out to score a rare albatross, highlighting a round of 64 that left him tied for the lead after 36 holes at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.

Rai entered the second round at Yas Links Golf Club two strokes behind a quintet of co-leaders, including fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, but quickly made up ground on the par-5 No. 2 hole. His second shot landed on the green and rolled into the cup, allowing him to pick up three shots on the hole.

He described the shot after the round, which left him at a 14-under 130 through 36 holes and tied with Fleetwood.

“The wind was a little bit down off the left and that green was so fast,” he said. “It slopes front-to-back, pitching a few yards on to the green, actually caught it a little bit clean off the face, the line was great. Finished around the front edge and chased its way down there. You couldn’t see it from the back of the fairway, so it was a nice surprise.”

To maintain a share of the lead, Fleetwood mixed seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 66 following his opening-round 64. He is a two-time winner of the event and confident heading into the third round on Saturday.

“Really good day. I got off to like the perfect start. Birdie, birdie, birdie,” he said. “That was good, especially when you’ve had a good round the day before. They always say it’s hard to follow up a good round with another good one, or a low one with another one.

“Starting good was really important. I just did a really good job — I hit a lot of good shots but a few times today where I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well. I felt like we did a great job of controlling the ball out of the rough, and that was really pleasing. I feel like I putted solid again; 6-under was a very good score.”

Rai and Fleetwood are two shots ahead of Andy Sullivan (67) of England, Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (67) and Richard Sterne (68) of South Africa.

Irishman Shane Lowry, another past champion, is one of four players three shots behind the leaders at 11-under. He shot a 69.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, ranked No. 2 in the world, is 8-under for the tournament and tied for 20th place after back-to-back rounds of 68.