Edmonton Oilers Advance to Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON, Alberta -- For the Edmonton Oilers, the journey from worst to first in the Western Conference is complete. And now a chance at the Stanley Cup is their reward.

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in the opening period to get Edmonton going, Stuart Skinner stopped 34 shots for his hometown team and the Oilers capped an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final by beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Sunday night.

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Zach Hyman also scored -- like McDavid, on a first-period power play -- and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers, who won the Western Conference finals in six games and will play for the Cup for the first time since 2006.

Edmonton now heads to Florida to face the Panthers in Game 1; the series is set to open Saturday night.

Mason Marchment scored midway through the third period and Jake Oettinger stopped eight shots for the Stars, who finished the regular season with the second-best record in the NHL -- 113 points, just one behind the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. The Oilers finished with only 10 shots on goal, the fewest by a team in a playoff win since 1990.

Starting with that eight-game win streak, the Oilers -- who had a 16-game winning streak not long after the eight-game run ended -- were the best team in the NHL for the remainder of the regular season. They were 44-15-5 the rest of the way, leading the league in goals (239) and goal differential (plus-76) in that span.

And now, the Final awaits. Much like the Panthers on Saturday night, the Oilers didn't touch the conference championship trophy in the postgame celebration. It's the bigger trophy that they're seeking.