Connor McDavid, Oilers Celebrated By NHL Fans for Taking WCF Series Lead vs. Stars

The Edmonton Oilers are one win away from the first Stanley Cup Final of the Connor McDavid era.

The Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 on the road Friday night to take a 3-2 Western Conference Finals lead.

Edmonton was first on the board thanks to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored the first two power-play goals of the series in the first and second period:

Nugent-Hopkins' best performance of the playoffs came after Leon Draisaitl praised him before the game.

"Have you guys ever seen him make a mistake? I really haven't," Draisaitl said before the win, per NHL Network. "He's just such a smart, good hockey player, and I think he's probably the coach's favorite player in the world."

Nugent-Hopkins' Friday performance led fans to agree with Draisaitl's assessment:

Philip Broberg, who was placed on waivers in November and was skating in his second playoff game of the season, contributed to the Oilers' lead with the first playoff goal of his career.

The Stars struggled to get shots on goal early, but tested Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner with 10 shots in the third period.

Skinner made nine late saves to preserve the Oilers' lead.

McDavid meanwhile contributed a secondary assist and led the Oilers with three hits.

After the 5-2 Game 4 win that tied the series, the Oilers have now outplayed and outshot the Stars for significant portions of the last two games.

That's in large part because of their depth behind McDavid and Draisaitl:

The Stars, one of the best road teams in the NHL during the regular season, will now need one more win on enemy ice in order to extend their postseason.

The puck drops for Game 6 in Edmonton Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.