Ryan Nugent-Hopkins eliminated his hometown Canucks to get his team closer to playing for the Stanley Cup.
The Burnaby forward scored, what turned out to be, the insurance marker for the Oilers as Edmonton defeated Vancouver 3-2 in Game 7 Monday night, May 20 — 4-3 in the second-round series.
The Oilers are headed to the best-of-seven western conference final against the Dallas Stars.
Nugent-Hopkins, 31, in his 13th NHL season, potted his fourth of the 2024 playoffs with 4:38 left in the second period while Edmonton was on a power-play.
He found the puck on a rebound off the backboards after a rocket from defenceman Evan Bouchard missed wide of the Canucks' net.
The first overall pick in the 2011 entry draft sent a quick wrist shot past a diving goaltender in Arturs Silovs with one minute to go in the tripping penalty against Sam Lafferty.
Nugent-Hopkins added an assist on Zach Hyman's goal earlier in the frame. He recorded 10 points in seven games of the second round, which included surpassing the 50-point milestone in Game 4.
The Burnaby Winter Club alum now has 14 goals and 55 points in 61 career playoff games, all with Edmonton, including four and 16 this year to date.
The last time the Oilers made it this far was in 2022 when they lost in the western final to the eventual-champion Colorado Avalanche.
In that series, Nugent-Hopkins compiled two goals and three points as Edmonton was swept by the Avs in four games.
The Oilers will face off in Dallas for Game 1 on Thursday, May 23, at 5:30 p.m. PDT.
