The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Friday night to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Oilers can advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 with a win on home ice Sunday night.

Edmonton was in control of Friday's contest, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring a power-play goal in each of the opening two periods before Philip Broberg notched his first-ever NHL playoff marker.

"I've tried to round out my game as my career's gone on," Nugent-Hopkins told the NHL on TNT crew postgame. "I still got lots of room for improvement, so I try to be a coachable player and just do what I can to help out."

Leon Draisaitl praised Nugent-Hopkins prior to Game 5, joking about his veteran teammate being coach Kris Knoblauch's favorite player. Following Friday's performance, it seems Draisaitl may have been right.

"I saw Ryan and told him tonight he's my favorite," Knoblauch said, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.

Wyatt Johnston scored the Stars' only goal with five minutes remaining in the third period.

Edmonton limited Dallas to only 10 shots through the first two periods and commanded 60% of the scoring chances and 56.2% of the expected goals at five-on-five for the contest, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Oilers have flipped the series script since losing Game 3. The Stars looked to be in control after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in Game 4, but Edmonton has outscored the top-seeded Stars 8-1 since.

The puck drops for Game 6 at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

"It's going to be buzzing," Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner told Sportsnet.

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The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Friday night to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Oilers can advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 with a win on home ice Sunday night.

Edmonton was in control of Friday's contest, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring a power-play goal in each of the opening two periods before Philip Broberg notched his first-ever NHL playoff marker.

"I've tried to round out my game as my career's gone on," Nugent-Hopkins told the NHL on TNT crew postgame. "I still got lots of room for improvement, so I try to be a coachable player and just do what I can to help out."

Leon Draisaitl praised Nugent-Hopkins prior to Game 5, joking about his veteran teammate being coach Kris Knoblauch's favorite player. Following Friday's performance, it seems Draisaitl may have been right.

"I saw Ryan and told him tonight he's my favorite," Knoblauch said, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.

Wyatt Johnston scored the Stars' only goal with five minutes remaining in the third period.

Edmonton limited Dallas to only 10 shots through the first two periods and commanded 54.05% of the scoring chances and 59.64% of the expected goals at five-on-five for the contest, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Oilers have flipped the series script since losing Game 3. The Stars looked to be in control after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in Game 4, but Edmonton has outscored the top-seeded Stars 8-1 since.

The puck drops for Game 6 at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

"It's going to be buzzing," Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner told Sportsnet.

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The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 on Thursday to move within one victory of their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance.

The result was the series' fourth consecutive one-goal game, with the previous three requiring overtime.

New York jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second period after a shorthanded goal from Chris Kreider, which marked his and Mika Zibanejad's first points of the series. Gustav Forsling answered for the Panthers later in the period, then Florida took the lead midway through the final frame on a tally from Anton Lundell.

Sam Bennett deposited an empty-netter, which stood as the winner after Alexis Lafreniere made it a one-goal game with 50 seconds remaining.

"We've showed it all playoffs, we battle right to the end," Bennett told Sportsnet after the win. "It wasn't the first period we wanted, but we stuck with it, we played our game. That's just what we've done all year. It's a great effort from us."

Florida head coach Paul Maurice had some high praise for Forsling in particular.

"In his style, he's the best defenseman in the world," Maurice said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo.

The Panthers controlled play for much of the contest, outshooting the Rangers 37-27 while commanding 62.22% of scoring chances and 69.04% of expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Rangers went 0-for-3 on the power play in Game 5 and are now 1-for-14 in the series.

"We have to capitalize on those chances," New York rearguard Adam Fox said, per NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "Big spots. We have some looks. You don't win games based on getting looks. You have to capitalize."

Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday in Sunrise, and the Rangers know it will take a stronger effort to force a winner-take-all Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

"Leave it all out there," captain Jacob Trouba said, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "Go win one game. ... When your back's against the wall, everybody's got to bring their best game to survive another day."

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin was named the 2024 recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on Thursday, edging out Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The honor recognizes sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play and is voted upon by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Slavin won convincingly with 81 first-place votes, while Pettersson finished second on the ballot.

Slavin is the only the second defenseman to ever win the Lady Byng multiple times, joining Hall of Famer Red Kelly, who won three of his four during his time as a rearguard.

This season saw Slavin notch 37 points in 81 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per contest. Despite his heavy usage, the 30-year-old only logged four minor penalties.

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin was named the 2024 recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on Thursday, edging out Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The honor recognizes sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play and is voted upon by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Slavin won convincingly with 81 first-place votes, while Pettersson finished second on the ballot.

Slavin is the only the second defenseman to ever win the Lady Byng multiple times, joining Hall of Famer Red Kelly, who won three of his four during his time as a rearguard.

This season saw Slavin notch 37 points in 81 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per contest. Despite his heavy usage, the 30-year-old only logged four minor penalties.

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Dallas Stars defenseman Chris Tanev left Wednesday's Game 4 loss against the Edmonton Oilers after blocking a shot in the second period and didn't return.

The Stars labeled Tanev questionable to return due to a lower-body injury after he failed to emerge from the dressing room for the final frame.

Head coach Pete DeBoer said he hopes Tanev will be available for Game 5 on Friday, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.

Tanev has been an essential piece of Dallas' success since being acquired from the Calgary Flames prior to the trade deadline. Entering Game 4, Tanev averaged 23:26 of ice time in 16 playoff contests this spring and ranked second among all players with 65 blocks.

The Western Conference Final is tied 2-2 after Edmonton's 5-2 victory Wednesday.

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NHL Utah owner Ryan Smith revealed Wednesday that the franchise has four front-runners for its team name.

"Mammoth's up there, Yeti's up there," Smith said during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." "I think a couple other ones are up there. It should be good. … It'll be out soon."

Utah sent out a survey to fans earlier this month featuring 20 possible team identities. Smith previously revealed the team will wear jerseys with "Utah" during its inaugural season before introducing branding for 2025-26.

The NHL approved the Arizona Coyotes' sale and relocation to Utah in April.

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New York Islanders captain Anders Lee was named the 2024 recipient of the NHL's King Clancy Memorial Trophy on Tuesday.

The honor is given to "the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

All 32 teams submit a nominee for the award. Lee has been a finalist in six of the past seven seasons.

Lee has been involved with the Jam Kancer in the Kan Foundation, among others, since 2017 and raised $155,000 for the cause in 2023.

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Dallas Stars veteran Tyler Seguin is making the most of his club's pursuit of the Stanley Cup this spring after changing his perspective as a veteran player who's had his share of ups and downs.

"I think it takes time to get to this point," Seguin told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I think there was a period of time where you are fighting your ego, thinking of what you deserve. And at a certain point, you have to understand what is more important: What you think you deserve or what you think makes the team better.

"I had to look at myself and say: 'What do I want?' I mean, I've made money. I have a great home life. I'm married now. In the end, what I really want is to share the experiences that I had back when I was a kid, with this group of guys."

Seguin said his mindset shifted during the 2020-21 season when he was limited to only three games as he rehabbed significant knee and hip injuries.

"Those were dark times," Seguin said. "I'm not sure if retirement was a real possibility but you have different thoughts. 'Can I play again? If so, at what level?' I think a lot of athletes go through that with surgeries and setbacks.

He continued, "That was a pinpoint of my career and life. I'd just gone through back-to-back surgeries and had six months of sitting on my butt, not really having a good support system. It was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Seguin has been mostly healthy over the last three campaigns and has been one of Dallas' most productive players this postseason. He has 12 points in 16 games as the Stars sit two wins from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

Dallas acquired Seguin from the Boston Bruins - with whom he won a championship in 2011 - prior to the 2013-14 campaign. He's racked up 667 points in 766 games over 11 seasons with the Stars, and he has three years left on his current contract.

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Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch wants to see more consistency from officials regarding penalty calls in the playoffs compared to the regular season.

"The standard gets changed a little bit," Knoblach said after Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. "(The NHL) would definitely want to make sure it's a penalty when in the regular season, maybe some things get let go. That's obviously unfortunate for us. We've got a very good power play, and we win a lot of games on the power play.

"It's unfortunate for us that it's tougher to draw penalties in the playoffs than it is in the regular season. That being said, I think the standard is the same for both teams. I'm not saying it's unfair for us, but we would like the same standard."

Edmonton recorded two power plays to Dallas' one in Saturday's Game 2. However, there was a big discrepancy in the series opener as the Stars had five man advantages compared to the Oilers' single chance.

The Oilers have converted 34.9% of their power plays through 14 playoff games this spring. Edmonton's 43 opportunities are the second-most behind only the Florida Panthers.

Leon Draisaitl (12), Connor McDavid (11), and Evan Bouchard (eight) are the top three power-play producers this postseason, but the players are also looking for answers from officials.

"That's a good question, I don't know," McDavid said when asked why the club has struggled to draw penalties in Round 3.

"Great question, I have no idea," said defenseman Mattias Ekholm when answering the same question. "I looked at (teammate) Darnell (Nurse's) penalty today, then five minutes later, I get cross-checked right in the same spot in the paint. But it's hard, it's physical, it's playoff hockey out there. It just seems to be we need to kill more than we get power plays."

Here's the play referenced by Ekholm:

The Stars failed to convert on the opportunity, boosting the Oilers' penalty kill percentage to an impressive 92.7% this postseason.

Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night as the series shifts to Edmonton.

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