Despite an enormous gap between top and bottom performances, Edmonton is on the verge of advancing to Round 3.

The NBA Hall of Fame forward had a memorable reaction to the Edmonton Oilers winning 1-0 in overtime during Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. NBA on TNT cameras caught Barkley cheering after forward Kasperi Kapanen scored in overtime to win the series for the Oilers.

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to advance to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four years. Reaching the pe

The Edmonton Oilers face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the second-round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

It might just feel like forever ago that this roster began being built under an All Gas, No Brake philosophy, with an offence that could outscore any glaring holes in the roster. That’s what four first-round draft picks in a span of six years will do to a club, apparently.

Early on, it looked like the Golden Knights were going to be run out of Rogers Place. The Oilers rode the energy off the home crowd to build a nice lead. Corey Perry, placed on a line with captain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, opened the scoring several minutes into the first.

The Edmonton Oilers face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the second-round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, May 10, 2025.