The Edmonton Oilers are headed back to the Western Conference final for the third time in four years.
And the goalie the Oilers swapped out early in the first round got two straight shutouts to help the team move on.
Stuart Skinner made 24 saves against the Vegas Golden Knights in Wednesday night's Game 5, which was tied 0-0 after regulation. At the other end of the ice, the Oilers' Kasperi Kapanen found the puck in a scramble and jammed it into the net just over seven minutes into overtime to win the game 1-0 and the series 4-1.
Skinner returned to the lineup in Game 3 after Calvin Pickard was ruled out day-to-day with an injury.
Pickard is 6-0 in this year's playoffs with a 2.84 goals-against average and .888 save percentage. Skinner, meanwhile, had an .810 SP and 6.11 GAA after losing Games 1 and 2 in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings, leading coach Kris Knoblauch to change netminders.
Skinner allowed four goals on 24 shots in Game 3 against Vegas, including one with 0.4 seconds left in the match. But in Game 4, Skinner stopped all 23 shots he faced to extend the series lead to 3-1 instead of a potential 2-2 tie.
With Game 5's shutout performance out of the way, the 26-year-old Skinner said Wednesday night was the least nerve-wracking of the three matches he's played in the series.
"I had a feeling of peace tonight," Skinner told Sportsnet's Gene Principe post-game. "My job's just to give the team a chance to win. I can't really do too much else, so just trying to do my best out there, and whatever happens happens."
There was a lot of mental and emotional resolve to end the series the way he played compared to being on the bench at the start of it.
"It's hard. It's very difficult, to say the least," Skinner said. "It's definitely been a grind, lot of work – lot of work just to try to stay sane in all of it, too, and obviously a moment where we were able to step up.
"I got so much to thank for my teammates with all their support even through that and then also how they've been playing since I've been in."
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The Oilers limited the Golden Knights to 24 shots in Game 3, 23 in Game 4 and 24 in Game 5. That average of 23.67 would be the lowest in the NHL this post-season if they were like this the whole time.
That said, Skinner still had to stand tall, and he did.
He logged 1.98 goals saved above expected, which accounts for the quality of the scoring chances, according to moneypuck.com. In Game 4, he had 2.23 goals saved above expected in a 3-0 Oilers win. His play was a big step up from Game 3, when his minus-1.69 rating may have been the difference-maker in a 4-3 loss.
Skinner's stats improved to a 2-3 record, 3.05 GAA and .884 SP in five playoff games. He and the team now get to rest as they await the winner of the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars series. The Stars lead 3-1 with a chance to eliminate the Jets on Thursday night.
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