EDMONTON 鈥� It is a well-rested, eager group of Edmonton Oilers who head into the NHL Western Conference final confident they will repeat their 2024 series victory over the Dallas Stars.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of things going to be similar,鈥� forward Leon Draisaitl said of meeting the Stars for the second straight conference final. 鈥淭hey know how we want to play and we know how they want to play. It鈥檚 going to come down to execution.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a challenge. They鈥檙e a good defensive team, lots of good defensive players.鈥�
When asked about the Oilers' defence, Draisaitl bristled just a bit, assuring reporters that the team is ready to handle the Stars in the series that begins in Dallas on Wednesday night.
Without even mentioning the back-to-back shutout victories the team posted in finishing off the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, Draisaitl said the Oilers are 鈥渧ery confident鈥� in their defence.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been a very good defensive team for years now,鈥� said the team鈥檚 playoff goal-scoring leader. 鈥淎re we going to give up a couple more goals than we want to now and then? Of course, every team does. It鈥檚 too hard to shut out every team or just give up one or two goals.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a good, structured defensive team.鈥�
Head coach Kris Knoblauch attributed the team鈥檚 much improved defensive play, despite the absence of Mattias Ekholm and a number of roster changes, to subtle adjustments and aggressive shot blocking.
鈥淭here were a lot of blocked shots,鈥� Knoblauch said of the team鈥檚 shutout victories against the Golden Knights. 鈥淎nd also when you鈥檙e getting saves you forget about the mistakes.鈥�
One of the key defencemen was Darnell Nurse who agreed the Oilers have played 鈥渞eally well defensively鈥� in the playoffs.
鈥淏ut there鈥檚 always room for improvement when it comes to limiting chances,鈥� he added. 鈥淥bviously now with a different opponent they鈥檙e going to present different looks and different challenges.鈥�
Which means, he added, the Oilers will have to continue to elevate their defensive game. Or at least keep it 鈥渁t the same level we had in finishing off Vegas.鈥�
One of the key challenges facing the Oilers, especially defensively, is Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen who leads all playoff scorers with nine goals and 19 points.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a great player, very dynamic, very dangerous, but no different from lots of players we鈥檝e faced,鈥� Draisaitl said. 鈥淲e have to be aware of him, time and space, all the things that you do when you prepare for any team鈥檚 top-end guys.鈥�
But, added Nurse, the Dallas offence is a lot more than just the recently acquired Rantanen.
鈥淥bviously, he鈥檚 a special player, but their team has a lot of other threats up and down their lineup. They have a team that can score throughout their lineup so every time you鈥檙e on the ice, no matter what line you鈥檙e out there against, you have to pay attention to detail defensively.鈥�
Monday鈥檚 practice saw Ekholm participate in his first full team practice since April 11. He鈥檚 been ruled out for the first two games and Knoblauch said he was 鈥渙ptimistic鈥� the Swede could return at some point during the series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2025.
John Korobanik, The Canadian Press
