It will be up to the Edmonton Oilers to end Canada’s Stanley Cup drought.
The Oilers earned a date with the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final after beating the host Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 of their second-round series on Monday.
The Oilers erased three one-game deficits in the series, winning the final two games to advance to the third round for the second time in the past three years.
Edmonton, the last Canadian team standing, will travel to Dallas for Game 1 on Thursday. The Oilers need to win two more series to become the first Canadian squad since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens to capture the Stanley Cup.
After a scoreless first period in which the Oilers outshot the Canucks 13-2, Edmonton defenceman Cody Ceci opened the scoring early in the second when he blasted a slapper past Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs.
Less than five minutes later, Edmonton’s Zach Hyman tipped an Evan Bouchard wrister from the point behind Silovs to double the Oilers’ lead.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fired home a rebound on a power play late in the second to put Edmonton up 3-0.
Conor Garland ended Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner’s shutout bid with 8:33 left in the third period after a turnover by Ryan McLeod.
Filip Hronek cut the deficit to 3-2 when his shot through a screen beat Skinner with 4:36 left.
The Canucks were missing star forward Brock Boeser, who was diagnosed with a blood-clotting issue before Game 7.
Vancouver also lost star goaltender Thatcher Demko to injury early in the post-season.