as a starter. Four games into the season, Jimmy Carson decided the pressure of playing in Edmonton was too intense, and he was traded to Detroit with Kevin McClelland in exchange for Petr Klima, Adam Graves, Joe Murphy, and Jeff Sharples. The Oilers improved on their previous season, finishing with 38 wins and 90 points, good for fifth place overall in the NHL. Messier had 45 goals and 84 assists for 129 points, good for second in the NHL scoring race (behind only Gretzky). In the first round, the Oilers faced the Winnipeg Jets. Trailing the series 3–1 and trailing Game 5 by the identical score, the Oilers rallied to win the next three and take the series. In the division final, the Oilers met Los Angeles for the second-straight season. Edmonton swept the series 4–0, outscoring the Kings 22–10. The Oilers then met the Chicago Blackhawks in the Campbell Conference Final and fell behind 2–1 in the series. However, the Oilers won the next three games to earn a rematch of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals with Boston. The Final is remembered for Game 1, still the longest Stanley Cup Final game played in the modern NHL. Despite being soundly outshot by the Bruins, the Oilers won the game 3–2 when Klima—benched for much of the game, and thus the only player on either team who was not exhausted—scored at 15:13 of the third overtime. The Oilers defeated the Bruins in five games, and won their first Cup without Gretzky. For his superlative goaltending, Bill Ranford won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Decline in success (1990–1996) The Oilers lost another important player before the 1990–91 season, as Jari Kurri chose to play the entire season with Devils Milano. Grant Fuhr was suspended for 60 games for drug abuse. The season itself was not great for the Oilers, who finished with 37 wins and 80 points, in third place in the Smythe Division. In the playoffs, the Oilers met the Flames in the opening round, winning a thrilling series in seven games, led by seven goals by Esa Tikkanen. Despite injuries suffered in the series with Calgary, they next defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games. However, their success did not continue into the Conference Final, as they lost in five games to the Minnesota North Stars. The final star players from the Oilers left before the 1991–92 season. Fuhr