The Edmonton Oilers defeated the strongly Finnish-represented Dallas Stars in the NHL conference finals. In the finals, they will face the Florida Panthers.
In the ice hockey NHL, the Edmonton Oilers have won the Western Conference final series and continue to the Stanley Cup finals. The Oilers won the series 4-2.
The absolute brightest star of the match in the Oilers’ 2–1 victory was the superstar Connor McDavidwhich captured power points 1+1.
The Canadian, who leads the points market in the playoffs, led the home team with superiority in the first set. McDavid got the puck from his radar pair from the German From Leon Draisaitl, fooled the entire Dallas defense and finished with a spectacular knuckleball. (Video of the finish below)
After the match at the press conference Draisaitl laughed at reporters when asked about McDavid’s solo goal.
Leon, have you seen a (goal) like that from McDavid before?
– Yeah. It was great, the German gambler replied very briefly, which made the journalists present laugh.
– There is one player in the world who can do that. I don’t know what to say, he knows what I mean, Draisaitl added though.
Also the head coach of the Oilers Chris Knoblauch impressed for his captain’s performance in the sixth game of the series.
“Connor stepped up and played an incredible game tonight.
Leading the playoff goalscorer in the first round (14) Zach Hyman still hit from Edmonton. Mason Marchment gave Dallas a goal in the middle of the third period, but it did not save the team from relegation.
The Finns of Dallas Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell went scoreless in their last game of the season.
The Edmonton Oilers kept with recent tradition and did not touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which is awarded annually to the team that wins the Western Conference. NHL assistant commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy to Oilers captain McDavid.
There are three Oilers players at the top of the NHL points market.
Edmonton last in the finals in 2006
With the fall of Dallas, four Finnish players will be seen in the Stanley Cup finals. The Florida Panthers, who made their way to the final series over the weekend, are played by Finnish forwards Alexander Barkov, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen and defender Niko Mikkola.
Florida, who won the Eastern Conference, are aiming to win the Stanley Cup for the second season in a row. Last year, the Panthers lost the final series to the Vegas Golden Knights with a 1-4 victory. The Panthers have never won an NHL championship.
Edmonton, on the other hand, has last played in the NHL finals in the 2005-2006 season, when they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers’ previous championship is from the 1989-1990 season, when they played in the team Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen and Reijo Rotsalainen.
The place in the finals was a big deal for the people of the oil city, because the team has been taunted for several years now, when success has not come under the leadership of the absolute superstars of the league, McDavid and Draisaitl.
In the post-match press conferences, Edmonton supporters chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP” in reference to the most valuable player, i.e. McDavid. Also, the Dallas coach by Peter DeBoer during the interview shouts were heard from the side of the arena “We want the cup, we want the cup, we want the cup”.
The NHL finals begin in Edmonton on June 8, North American time.
STT Sports, Sports