The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers (optional) skated on Friday morning.

When the Edmonton Oilers won the draft lottery in 2015, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn't waste time making contact with the presumptive No. 1 pick.

"He was one of the first people to ever reach out from the organization," Connor McDavid recalled. "I think it was only a couple days after the draft lottery he sent me a text."

Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, broke into a smile while sitting beside McDavid, now the Oilers captain and No. 1 centre, at the podium on Friday morning.

"I was confident we were taking him," Nugent-Hopkins quipped.

"I thought he was pulling my leg or something," McDavid continued. "I didn’t believe him at first."

It was a pinch-me moment for the entire Oilers franchise.

"It was definitely pretty wild," Nugent-Hopkins added. "Like everybody in Edmonton, we were pretty excited, to say the least, when that happened."

The relationship has only grown from there.

"Definitely means a lot," said McDavid of their connection. "Played 10 years together, been teammates for a long time, and been through it all together."

And they are now just three wins away from winning a Stanley Cup together.

Nugent-Hopkins, the longest-serving Oiler, returned to McDavid's left side at Friday's morning skate. The pair had been separated late in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Oilers looked to dig out of a hole against the Florida Panthers.

Leon Draisaitl moved up to the top line with McDavid and Corey Perry as the Oilers erased a third-period deficit before winning in overtime.

"Get them the puck," Perry said with a laugh when asked about his mindset beside the two leading scorers in the playoffs. "Get out of the way. Go to the........

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