When the Edmonton Oilers needed a spark to open the Stanley Cup Final, Leon Draisaitl scored just more than a minute in.
When they needed the tying goal after falling behind to defending champions the Florida Panthers, Connor McDavid delivered the perfect pass.
And when Game 1 was threatening to drag into a second overtime, McDavid found Draisaitl for the winner.
Photo: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Draisaitl and McDavid took over on Wednesday when it mattered most, delivering a series-opening 4-3 victory that put them three wins from the championship they have been working toward for a decade.
“They don’t take many nights off, that’s for sure,” teammate Brett Kulak said. “They usually are our top guys every single night, and the bigger the stage the better they get.”
Playing through pain, Draisaitl did not score a goal in the Final last year, when Edmonton lost the first three games, got back even, and then dropped a heartbreaker in Game 7 to fall short. Healthier now than during that run, he needed only 66 seconds to get on the board.
“There’s maybe nobody better,” McDavid said.
A Most Valuable Player (MVP) finalist from a dominant regular season, Draisaitl was one of the best players on the ice all game and finished it with a power-play goal 19 minutes, 29 seconds into overtime.
“He’s a top-three player in the world,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “He just looks very confident, very comfortable and he’s doing his thing.”
So was McDavid, who fed Ekholm for the equalizer with 13:27 left in regulation. McDavid skated the puck through the zone and made everything happen late in overtime, too, with Draisaitl on the receiving end of a pass, and thankful McDavid and everyone else made it easier for him to hammer a shot home.
“It’s a special feeling,” Draisaitl said. “It’s great for right now, but we’ve got to look ahead and get ready for Game 2.”
McDavid has taken home the Hart Trophy three times, led the NHL in scoring five times and last year won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in a losing effort. Draisaitl has also won the Hart, the Art Ross for most points and the Rocket Richard for the most goals.
What they have not won together is the Stanley Cup, the trophy that was brought out onto a table on the ice just before the puck drop. Thanks to McDavid and Draisaitl, the Oilers are another step closer to the franchise’s first title in 35 years, and them raising their play at the most crucial of times was not at all surprising to those around them.
“I’ve seen them do it many times,” goaltender Stuart Skinner said. “Hopefully, I’m able to see them do it a lot more.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS