Oilers feel relaxed heading into Game 6 against Stars, McDavid says

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid walked into the dressing room Sunday morning and cut through a crowd of reporters waiting in front of his locker.

The Edmonton Oilers can make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 with a win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS).

But the Oilers captain acted as if this were, say, a Tuesday in November.

“Everybody knows what’s at stake, obviously,” McDavid said. “But we’re preparing like a normal game day. Things feel pretty regular around here.”

McDavid leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 29 points (four goals, 25 assists) in 17 games, and leads Edmonton in the conference final with eight points (two goals, six assists) in five games.

The Stars took a 2-0 lead in the first period of Game 4 and had a chance to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, but the Oilers have outscored them 8-1 since and can eliminate Dallas on Sunday.

“We’ve just been playing our best hockey,” McDavid said. “We’ve been forechecking well. We haven’t been giving up too much, which is good. They’re a really good rush team. We’ve been doing a great job of limiting that, of limiting their chances as a whole. So, yeah, just been playing good hockey.”

Edmonton has made key adjustments.

“Dallas plays a little bit of a different game,” McDavid said. “They play maybe a little bit of a longer game than we’ve seen just in terms of stretching wingers out high. They rim a lot of pucks. They punt a lot of pucks out into the neutral zone, so we’ve got to adapt to that. I thought early on in the series they were maybe catching us maybe in between and getting some looks off the rush, but since then, I think we’ve done a good job of understanding what they’re trying to do and limiting that.”

McDavid said he isn’t projecting confidence or setting an example by sticking to the routine. It’s business as usual.

“Honestly, as a leader in the room or anyone that’s part of the leadership group, you’re always kind of taking the temperature of the room and seeing what the vibe is, and honestly, it does feel just like a regular game day,” McDavid said. “If there was any sense of nerves or anxieties, maybe you would say something. But I’m not sensing anything.”

The atmosphere should be awesome for Game 6.

After reaching the Cup Final in 2006, the Oilers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. Then they missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons.

Since 2016-17, McDavid’s second season in the NHL, they have made the playoffs six times in eight seasons, including the past five. They reached the conference final in 2022 but got swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

Now they have a chance to win the conference final at home.

“It’s exciting,” McDavid said. “We love playing in front of our fans. Yeah, we’re excited for the opportunity to bring them a little joy.”