Success in the Stanley Cup playoffs is never guaranteed. We have witnessed the loss of elite teams in the first round many times. Winning the Stanley Cup is extremely difficult, but even winning two rounds is a challenge.
The Edmonton Oilers broke their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, for the first time since 2006, with an exciting 5-4 victory overtime in Calgary last night. And of course, their two superstars combined for the winning goal, while Leon Dreisitl set Connor McDavid for his first goal after overtime after the season.
Oilers fans couldn’t write it better. Oilers fans, aged 40 and under, have never experienced the heightened emotions of the playoffs at Alberta. The energy and anxiety in the second round was much higher than in the first round against the kings. It is different when your favorite team faces its biggest and closest (in terms of distance) opponent. You probably know more Flames fans than Kings fans, and tweeting and teasing back and forth are common.
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Oilers fans will remember this series for a long time. For young fans, this is a series in which they become true sworn fans. My son is eight years old. The minute he got out of bed this morning, he ran to watch the highlights. He was extremely excited. When we got to his school, the chatter between his friends and teachers was pure excitement about the game. I didn’t see that after the kings won.
Series like this only increase your loyalty as a fan.
I have wanted to witness the BOA for years. I had a lot of Oilers fans who had never experienced one, they told me they didn’t want to play with Calgary because they were afraid of losing to the Flames fans if they lost. I answered, but what if the Oilers win? I’m sure it would be bad for Oilersnation if they lost the show, but they didn’t, and for many fans, this is probably the favorite win of the show in their lives.
And this is only the second round.
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The Oilers are not done.
“It feels great,” Dreisitle said. “I’m sure people at home are very excited about it. But we are only halfway there. We are very excited, very happy with what we have achieved so far, but there is still something for us. This is our ultimate goal. We celebrate this for one day, tonight maybe, be proud of it, happy. But we are preparing for the next round. “
Players will have to redirect and regroup, but fans will be able to enjoy this throughout the weekend. Did you wake up happier? Was there more energy in your workplace? I guess yes, because winning the playoffs captures the heart, imagination and fans. Diehard fans live for it, and no fan base in the 2000s was more disappointed than Oilers fans. Well, at least in the regular season. Maple Leafs fans have the title of recent playoff pain.
This victory was not only great for the fans, it was huge for the organization and very satisfying for their captain.
“It was great. It’s hard to put into words what that meant to me,” McDavid said of his OT winner. “The boys did a great job staying there all night. It certainly wasn’t our best effort, but we stayed there. and we got great performances from a bunch of different guys. Yes, I’m just happy to contribute to an evening where I may not have done my best. “
I am glad to contribute. Classic. I would say that he has done more than his share of the contribution.
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McDavid was on the ice for 38 goals in the playoffs in 261: 41 on TOI.STL has 38 goals in 671 minutes. NYR has 37 in 773 minutes. TB has 36 in 678 minutes. CGY has 35 in 735 minutes. The car has 33 for 723 min. FLO scored 23 in 607 min. The only COL team with more, 40 goals, in 560 min.
– Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) May 27, 2022
I had to double and triple my statistics before publishing this last night. This illustrates how dominant he was in two rounds. Even one night, when he feels he hasn’t given his best, he still plays a major role. His goal was the 26th winner of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the history of the franchise.
Glenn Anderson has three. Wayne Gretsky, Jari Kuri, Esa Tikanen, Petr Klima and Joe Murphy have two each. Randy Greg, Lee Fogolin, Mark Lamb, Craig McTavish, Kelly Butchberger, Ryan Smith, Todd Marchant, Mike Comrie, Jarrett Stall, Sean Horkoff, Fernando Pisani, David Descharnet and McDavid have one.
Only 19 skaters have marked an OT winner for Edmonton and McDavid joins the list. His goal also ended a six-game losing streak for McDavid and Oilers.
With their two victories in the Oilers series, they erased the recent disappointment. The core learned from the losses of Winnipeg and Chicago. Most teams are disappointed after the season before they find success.
The ability of Oilers to overcome difficulties is shown after the loss in OT v. the Kings in the fifth game. The Oilers dominated games six and seven.
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Although they lost the game first to Calgary, they did not give up 6-2 in just 28 minutes of the match. They managed to equalize the game at six, before eventually losing 9-6. They were careless throughout the game, but proved that they will not just give up. This mentality helped them win second and five matches. Both times the Oilers trailed 2-0 away, but managed to stay in the game and eventually won. They didn’t panic in the fourth game when Rasmus Anderson scored with a shot from 132 feet. Instead, they played harder and Ryan Newgent-Hopkins scored the biggest goal of his NHL career at the end of the third.
MORE THAN MKDAVID…
May 24, 2022; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Edmonton Oilers celebrate striker Zack Hyman’s goal (18) against Calgary Flames during the first period of the fourth round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
It’s hard not to be mesmerized by McDavid. He deserves all the recognition he received for his game, but the idea that the Flames lost only because of him is extremely disrespectful to his teammates.
Draisaitl has strength in the series with 17 points. He tied Rick Middleton for the most points in the first five games of the series. Middleton finished with 19 points in a seven-game win over the Buffalo Sabers in 1983. Dreisytle seemed destined to break that record if the Oilers lost, but I’m sure he would have preferred to rest further.
Draisaitl set a record for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the most assists in a single period (4) in the third game. In the fourth game, he became the first player to have four consecutive games with three or more points. He then broke that, generating four points in the fifth game. To score three points in five consecutive games against the same team. A team that was third in the NHL in the GA / game at 2.51 is hellishly impressive and achieving it while caring for an ankle injury only adds to the folklore that is Draisaitl.
Evander Kane scored five goals in the series, but in the fifth game Jay Woodcroft exchanged Kane and Zach Hyman because he wanted Kane to face the line of Elias Lindholm. It is not often that the player who leads your team in post-season goals is asked to take on this challenge. Kane did it and it worked. Hyman also added a bit of a jump to the top line, so the move was beneficial for two lines. But Woodcroft also defeated Kyler Yamamoto and Jesse Pulyuarvi, causing Pulyuarvi to hit his first in the series.
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Hyman scored in every game and finished with six in the series. His tireless efforts were contagious to the whole group.
The six Oilers defenders played very well. After conceding nine goals in the first game, Edmonton have conceded just 11 in their last four games. The defense and Mike Smith stood up when needed.
It was a crazy show. Calgary set a record in the game when he scored two goals in the first 51 seconds. In the fifth match, both teams combined four goals (two each) in just 71 seconds. Another NHL record. So there were four NHL records, and Draisaitl also broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for the Battle of Alberta for the most points in a series. Greek had 14. Dreisytle scored 17.
We saw that the lead with four, three and two goals evaporates in four of the five games. There were many important goals on the drum, the strange 132-foot and some huge hits. It was an extremely entertaining series and Edmonton fans will not forget soon.
Have a nice weekend. To rest. And enjoy the journey back to the third round. Never take it for granted, because it is difficult to win even two rounds.
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Florida has not entered the third round since 1996. Columbus joined the NHL in 2001. They have never been in the third round. Toronto has not participated in the third round since 2002. Neither Colorado, but they are one victory away. Minnesota has not attended since 2003. Calgary’s last appearance in the third round was in 2004. The last finale of the Buffalo Conference was in 2007. Detroit has not returned since 2009. Philadelphia has not participated in the third round since 2010. ., the latter appeared.Va in the third round in 2011. New Jersey has not appeared since 2012. The same is true with Arizona. Rangers need two wins to get there for the first time since 2014. LA has not returned since winning the Cup in 2014. Chicago has not been there since 2015. Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Nashville and Anaheim do not have succeeded since 2017. Winnipeg did so in 2018, and Washington is on track to win the Cup. Boston, San Jose and St. Louis (it takes two wins to get there) last did so in 2019. Carolina did the same, but they are one win away from their return. Dallas reached the third round in 2020. Montreal, Vegas and New York Islanders did it in 2021. Seattle failed in its first season and may be in a few years. Tampa for the third consecutive season, and now Oilers.
Enjoy the next round. Who knows when you’ll be back.
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