Holland wants Oilers to lean on experience in West Final against Stars

DALLAS -- Ken Holland believes every Stanley Cup Playoff disappointment in his five-year tenure as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers has contributed to this moment.

The cornerstones of the Oilers' roster, forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and defenseman Darnell Nurse, are in their prime heading into Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC), and Holland feels this is Edmonton’s best chance to win it all under his management.

“We feel good about our team, we feel good about all the experience our team has had over the last three years,” Holland said Wednesday. “The players are a bit older, they’re in their prime, they have some veterans around them, and we’re excited for this challenge.”

Holland was hired by Edmonton on May 7, 2019, to build a competitive team around All-Stars McDavid and Draisaitl. The Oilers qualified for the postseason for the first time with the two in 2017, but after a second-round exit to the Anaheim Ducks, failed to get back in the playoffs the next two seasons.

Under Holland, the Oilers have qualified for the playoffs in five consecutive seasons.

“There’s been tremendous growth,” Holland said. “When I got here in 2019, I talked about the importance of being in lots of big games. The first year, we wanted to get into some big games in March and we weren’t sure if we could make the playoffs.

“Now, when you get in the playoffs, the more experiences you got, it makes a difference. I think going in Game 6 against Vancouver the other day, we had been in that situation two years ago going into L.A. in Game 6, down 3-2 (in best-of-7 series) and having to win a big game on the road. This was flipped and we had to win a big home game and then we go into Game 7, and we had been in it before two years earlier (Edmonton defeated Los Angeles 2-0 in Game 7 in the first round in 2022).”

Edmonton lost in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020, was swept in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets in 2021 and then by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final in 2022. Last season, it was eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the second round.

The Oilers earned a spot in the conference final this season with a 3-2 win in Game 7 of the second round against the Canucks on Monday. Edmonton trailed the best-of-7 series 3-2 and won Game 6, 5-1 at home, to force a deciding game.

“They have been in lots of playoff games,” Holland said. “We expect a lot of 22- and 23-year-olds in the National Hockey League in terms of what they can do on the ice and leadership, but ultimately, you need to be 25, 26, 27 years of age, and I think they’ve grown as players and tremendous growth as leaders.”

McDavid, 27, Draisaitl, 28, and Nurse, 29, is each in his ninth NHL season. Nugent-Hopkins, 31, is in his 13th. The core four, who were all drafted and developed by Edmonton, are going up against a Dallas team made up of older, savvy veterans and enthusiastic youngsters.

“We certainly have a lot more experience, going through the last couple of runs,” McDavid said Wednesday. “We’ve been in different situations, we’ve been holding leads, we’ve come back, whatever the situation, we’ve been in it the last couple of years. We’re drawing on that experience and we’re definitely a more mature group.”

It was experience and maturity that helped Edmonton overcome a disappointing opening game against Vancouver, giving up a 4-1 lead in a 5-4 loss, to battle back in the series. The Oilers also leaned on their experience when things were unravelling in Game 7, surviving the final 4:36 after the Canucks scored twice to cut the lead to 3-2.

“The experiences of those moments over the last couple of years, I think the last time we were in this situation, it was really our first long run,” Draisaitl said. “Since then, we’ve been to the second round and we’re here now again. You learn so much along the way and these moments of adversity and these moments where you have to find a way to battle through it and get out on top has taught us a lot and we’re ready for it.”

The Oilers believe it is their time with Holland in the final year of his five-year contract as general manager, and Draisaitl said they want to win the Stanley Cup as much as the other three teams left standing.

“We all love hockey, we all love competing in these moments and the ultimate prize is the Stanley Cup, and there’s four teams left,” he said. “We’ve done a good job so far, but they have guys that want to win it really badly and I can tell you we’ve got guys that want to win it really badly, too.”