It’s not necessarily the quantity that matters, but the quality. And when you have Connor McDavid in your training, you know that the quality will be there.
Sunday night, at a deafening Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Oilers needed just 10 shots to defeat the Stars for the third time in a row. A narrow 2-1 victory which allowed them to join the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final.
Ten is the fewest number of shots a team has taken to qualify for the final round in NHL history. And considering the Oilers scored both of their goals on their first three shots, you could almost say the last seven weren’t necessary.
Getty Images via AFP
Now back to quality. The Oilers captain opened the scoring after mocking Sam Steel and Miro Heiskanen with brilliant feints in the slot. A goal that we will see again for decades. Especially if the Oilers have to become the first Canadian team in 31 years to lift the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers star then served a splendid pass to Zach Hyman, who beat Jake Oettinger with a sharp wrist shot into the top corner.
They were hot
What do these two goals have in common? They were scored on two consecutive power plays. The only two from the Oilers in this game, in fact. The descendants of the glorious era of Wayne Gretzky have now hit the target in four of their last five mass attacks.
It’s understandable why Kris Knoblauch wanted to see officials hand out more penalties after the first two games.
Still at the level of the special teams, the numerical inferiority of the Albertans was once again perfect. For a 10e match in a row. We are talking about 28 punishments successfully completed.
The Oilers were therefore brought out of trouble by the special teams and the brilliance of Stuart Skinner. The goalkeeper faced a barrage of 35 shots.
At even strength, the Stars were clearly the better team. They gave the Oilers and their fans a scare during the third period. Especially after Mason Marchment reduced the gap to a single goal almost halfway through the period.
Fighting for their survival, the visitors increased the pressure. You could feel the nervousness creeping in among the Oilers players.
The latter were able to resist and will return to the final for the first time since 2006.
- Listen to the press review commented by Alexandre Dubé via QUB:
Another final for Perry
In his ninth season in Edmonton, McDavid will have his first opportunity to be crowned champion. Same thing for Leon Draisaitl (10 seasons) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (13 seasons), the player with the most seniority in the Oilers camp.
Corey Perry, meanwhile, will participate in the Stanley Cup final for the fifth time in his career, the fourth in five years. He only won the precious trophy on one occasion, in 2007, with the Anaheim Ducks.
A cut is still one more than Joe Pavelski and Ryan Suter, who, at 39, once again see their dream go up in smoke. It’s the same thing for Jamie Benn (34 years old) and Matt Duchene (33 years old), players who are not getting any younger.
This final, the longest in terms of distance between the two teams facing each other, will begin on Saturday at Sunrise.
