While the Edmonton Oilers fell short of the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup last season, it was undoubtedly a special time when we look back at it.
The playoff run, in particular, was truly unforgettable. It unified the city, generated nearly $180 million for Edmonton’s economy, filled downtown with smiles and high-fives, and converted casual Oilers fans into passionate ones.
The boys in orange and blue gave it their all, creating countless memories, spectacular plays, hits, and saves. That said, there were some highly skilled tallies in the postseason, and with that in mind, we’ve gathered the top 10 highlight reel goals from the Oilers’ 2024 playoff run, listed in the order they happened. Enjoy!
McDavid Makes Myers Stumble and Scores on Breakaway in Game 2 vs. the Canucks
In the second round against the Vancouver Canucks, the Oilers were coming off a heartbreaking loss in Game 1. They were leading 4-1 in the second period, but then surrendered five goals in the third, losing 5-4.
In Game 2, Nikita Zadorov scored a crushing goal from a distance that squeaked by Stuart Skinner, and the Oilers were down 3-2 heading into the third period. Close to five minutes in, Canucks D-man Carson Soucy went for a badly timed big hit on Zach Hyman as the Oilers were exiting their zone.
Connor McDavid identified the open lane with Soucy out of position. He turned on the jets, beating Tyler Myers to the loose puck and poked it past him and McDavid was off to the races. Myers fell, leaving the Oilers’ captain plenty of breakaway time to work his wizardry, switching from backhand to forehand dekes, and beating Arturs Silovs with a low blocker shot to tie the game 3-3. The Oilers won in overtime with an Evan Bouchard goal, securing a 4-3 victory.
McDavid Dekes and Draisaitl Snipes From His Office in Game 4 vs. the Canucks
The Canucks were leading the series 2-1 at this point heading into Game 4. J.T. Miller was given an interference penalty, and the Oilers went on the power play. Now, we’ve witnessed Leon Draisaitl scoring from his office on the man advantage countless times, but this sequence was poetry on ice.
McDavid received the puck on the wall and three Canucks’ PK’ers surrounded him in a triangle formation. The captain drew the trio towards him, stickhandled as if he were in a phone booth, and evaded three poke checks. He slid the puck over to a wide-open Draisaitl, who buried the one-timer in his usual spot to make it 1-0 for the home team.
Dylan Holloway Splits the Canucks’ Defenders and Beats Silovs in Game 6
The Oilers were down 2-3 in the series against the Canucks, and there were a lot of nerves in the building at Rogers Place at the start of Game 6. However, halfway through the first period, Draisaitl head manned the puck to Dylan Holloway, who had speed through the neutral zone.
Holloway first juked past Elias Pettersson, cut to the middle of the ice to evade Quinn Hughes’ poke check, then zipped by Filip Hronek, leaving him stranded in no man’s land as he made a clear-cut break toward the Canucks’ goal. There, he dangled from backhand to forehand and beat Silovs five-hole, electrifying the crowd at Rogers Place with the game’s opening goal. Edmonton won Game 6 by a score of 5-1 to force a Game 7.
McDavid’s Solo Effort Results in Stunning Goal in Game 6. vs. the Stars
The Oilers were leading 3-2 in the series against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Almost three minutes into the game, Chris Tanev took a tripping penalty, putting the home team on the man advantage.
The Oilers’ dangerous power play went to work. McDavid received the puck at the top of the left circle and shimmied to the left of Sam Steel. The captain, known for his usual pass-first mentality, then toe-dragged the steady Miro Heiskanen and backhanded the puck past Jake Oettinger, leaving everyone with yet another memorable McDavid playoff moment. Edmonton hung on to win the game 2-1 to win the series and face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Holloway With Another Breakaway Beauty in Game 4 vs. the Panthers
The Oilers were down 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Final to Florida, and with the score 2-1 in Game 4 in the first period, Brett Kulak passed the puck to Draisaitl, who had a step on a Panthers defender, creating a brief 2-on-1 scenario.
As soon as Draisaitl anticipated that the second D-man was going to commit to him, he brilliantly slid the puck over to his linemate at just the right moment. The puck was slightly behind the Oilers’ forward, but Holloway corralled it with speed, dragged it to his backhand, and lifted it past a stunned Bobrovsky for yet another pretty play by Holloway, making it 3-1.
Oilers Connect on a Tic-Tac-Toe Sequence in Game 4 vs. the Panthers
The Oilers were running away with Game 4 , leading 6-1 with five minutes remaining in the third period against Florida. Corey Perry carried the puck into the Panthers’ zone, with the Oilers’ captain extending his leg just enough to stay onside.
Perry baited two defenders towards him and passed the puck over to McDavid, who one-touched it to a speeding Holloway, who finished off one of the Oilers’ nicest passing plays of the postseason. He then flew through the air, doing his best Bobby Orr impersonation. The Oilers won Game 4 in commanding fashion, 8-1, with the Oilers’ faithful belting out Shania Twain’s ‘Man! I feel like a woman!’ near the end of the game.
Connor Brown Scores Shorthanded in Game 5 vs. the Panthers
The Oilers were down 3-1 in the series against the Panthers, and Kulak took a high-sticking penalty a few minutes into Game 5. On the penalty kill, Connor Brown, who was having a tremendous playoff, anticipated a cross-ice pass by the Panthers’ D-man at the blue line and got his stick on the puck to tip it out of the zone.
Brown got his legs moving, outraced Aleksander Barkov, and went one-on-one with Bobrovsky. The Oilers’ forward had the netminder guessing the whole way by flashing his forehand but was patient, dragged the puck to his backhand, and beat a sprawled Bobrovsky for a big shorthanded goal. The Oilers went on to a 5-3 victory and brought the Panthers back to ‘Berta’ for Game 6.
Oilers’ Captain Works His Magic to Set Up Perry in Game 5 vs. the Panthers
Also in Game 5, McDavid amazed those in attendance in Sunrise, Florida with another magical moment. The score was 3-1 for Edmonton and they were on the man advantage with the Oilers’ captain gassed from playing most of the power play.
With 18 seconds left on the power play, McDavid received the puck in the Oilers’ zone. He looked up and dissected his plan of attack while heading up ice. He sidestepped the first Panther, and then in the next sequence, had four Panthers surrounding him from every angle.
He made three quick dekes to avoid the last defender’s poke check, created a free lane to the net, and slid the puck over to the wide-open Corey Perry, who made no mistake and buried it past Bobrovsky. Adding to the impressiveness, the puck was bouncing throughout, but the captain controlled it perfectly to pass it cleanly to his teammate for a spectacular goal that will live on forever in the highlight reels.
Foegele Recovers From Stumble to Finish Draisaitl’s Feed in Game 6 vs. the Panthers
Florida was leading 3-2 in the series heading into Game 6 at Rogers Place. Draisaitl mentioned that he was not happy with his play heading into the game, and Oilers’ fans were anticipating a good game from the centerman.
Almost halfway through the first period, Draisaitl picked up a loose puck at center ice and toe-dragged it around Gustav Forsling’s poke check at the blue line, creating space for himself. At the same time, former Oiler Warren Foegele was charging towards the net and fell over a Panthers defender. Draisaitl waited until his linemate got back up, then, like a chef’s kiss in mid-air, he feathered the softest saucer pass over to Foegele, who finished off the beautiful setup, followed by an eruption from the hometown crowd. Edmonton won by a score of 5-1 and forced a Game 7.
Janmark Scores Top Shelf in Game 7
Mattias Janmark will be remembered for the way he stepped up for the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, scoring two goals in the series against the Panthers, with one of them being a memorable Game 7 goal.
After the Panthers scored the first goal of the game, Cody Ceci sent the puck flying 60 feet to Janmark, who accepted the pass on the poor ice in Florida, maintained his speed, and managed to get a step on Aaron Ekblad. With the Panthers D-man still on his tail, Janmark broke in alone, made a couple of dekes, and roofed the puck nearly bar down on Bobrovsky. On top of that, as nice as the tally was, the celly was even better.
Overall, the Oilers scored some incredible goals in the 2024 playoffs. As well, there were definitely some fun ones, like Evander Kane’s goal in Game 6 against the Canucks when the crowd at Rogers Place was rocking out to Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ and Kane scored seconds later off the faceoff during the sing-along.
With that in mind, which goal from the Oilers’ playoff run was your favourite, and was there any that you felt should’ve made the list but didn’t? Have your say in the comments section.