The Edmonton Oilers are in the 2025 National Hockey League Western Conference Finals. On Wednesday, they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in a dramatic victory that needed overtime to determine the winner. The Oilers overtime hero was right winger Kasperi Kapanen of Kupio, Finland. It was also an exceptional game for Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner of Edmonton, Alberta. Skinner had 24 saves for the shutout. This was the second straight shutout Skinner had in the series. On Monday night in a 3-0 Oilers win in game four of the series, he made 23 saves.
With the Wednesday win, the Oilers won the best out of five series four games to one. They will now play the winner of the Central Division second round matchup between the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars. The Stars lead that best out of seven Western Conference series three games to two.
Inside look at the overtime winner
Kapanen scored the goal by battling at the side of the net. His strong efforts and work ethic paid off, as he was able to slide the puck past Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill of Comox, British Columbia. Kapanen scored from defenseman Darnell Nurse of Hamilton, Ontario and 2024-25 Rocket Richard Trophy Winner Leon Draisaitl of Cologne, Germany at 7:19 of the extra period.
Second Stanley Cup Playoff Overtime Winner
Kapanen’s first National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner came on April 15, 2017. Kapanen scored from Brian Boyle of Hingham, Massachusetts and Matt Martin of Windsor, Ontario in a 4-3 Toronto Maple Leafs win over the Washington Capitals at 11:53 of double overtime. The Maple Leafs tied the Eastern Conference first round playoff series at one game apiece, but lost the series four games to two. Interestingly, Kapanen had only one regular season goal and one postseason goal before emerging as the overtime hero eight years ago.
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