Oilers close to a Stanley Cup chance, going home needing one win over Stars to wrap up West final

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has never been this close to playing for a Stanley Cup since the Edmonton Oilers took him with the first overall draft pick in 2011.

It’s been even longer for the franchise that has won the Cup five times.

Edmonton was right in the middle of a span of 10 consecutive seasons without even making the playoffs when Nugent-Hopkins was drafted. And while the Oilers went into this season considered a Cup contender, they were 5-12-1 in November and already had made a coaching change.

Now the Oilers go home to Rogers Place on Sunday night, in their 100th game this season, with a chance to wrap up the Western Conference final in Game 6 against the top-seeded Dallas Stars.

“The crowd’s going to be buzzing for sure. It’s going to be loud, going to be exciting,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “For us, it’s about controlling the emotions, playing within ourselves and just trusting our game is good enough to get the job done.”