CALGARY, AB - Trenches breached. Infantry retreating. Lines of communication cut off.
The Battle of Alberta in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been won in overtime, and the final charge was led by who else?
Captain Connor McDavid.
McDavid scored the game-winner 5:03 into extra time, securing the Edmonton Oilers the series win over their provincial rivals with a 5-4 victory on Thursday night in Game 5 to send the Orange & Blue to the Western Conference Finals.
But a captain is nothing without his soldiers.
Leon Draisaitl provided the game-winning helper as part of a four-assist evening, finishing the series with 17 points in five games. Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists to conclude the series having scored in every game, and Mike Smith battled to make 32 saves on 36 shots for his fourth-straight win and eighth of the post-season.
The Oilers will face either the St. Louis Blues or the Colorado Avalanche for the right to contest the Stanley Cup Final.
"We all want to win. Everybody wants to win," McDavid said. "Our group has been through a lot this year and in years past. It's just made us hungrier and hungrier to be successful. We had to learn a lot of lessons along the way. It's got us to this point and we want to keep it going."
GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Flames 4 (OT - Game 5)
McDavid builds on his NHL legacy with the overtime winner in Game 5 to send the Oilers to the Western Conference Final
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