Can Connor Become McJesus Again?
The Oilers best player must regain his regular season form if Edmonton is to come out on top in tonight’s second Game Seven.
These Stanley Cup Playoffs have been tremendous so far.
There’s a pleasant mix of upset potential and feel good stories from all the remaining teams. What has been missing is Game Seven, and the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, will provide the second of two winner take all matchups this evening.
The Oilers forced Game Seven thanks to a 7–1 blowout in Edmonton this past Sunday. It was the Leon Draisaitl show. The Oilers forward carried his team with a hat trick and two assists in a legendary performance. Mark Letestu also had four points. The two stepped up in place of Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who was held scoreless.
The Ducks looked sloppy from the opening puck drop. John Gibson was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots, replaced by Jonathan Bernier, who allowed four goals on twenty-nine shots.Even with the series returning to Anaheim, there is a sense of optimism brewing in Oil Country. The young Oilers should feel good about themselves going into this game after manhandling the higher seeded Ducks.
McDavid needs to make his presence felt tonight. If he had maintained his torrid scoring pace from the regular season, Edmonton wouldn’t be in this position to begin with. Milan Lucic will need to show some of who he was in Boston, where he was a dominant physical force night in and night out.
Edmonton needs to draw penalties, as the power play scored twice in Game Six. Cam Talbot will have to make sure the memory of the Game Five meltdown is behind him. The Oilers must play a full 60 minutes if they are to return to Rogers Place for Game One against Nashville instead of returning to clean out their locker stalls.
For Anahiem, there has to be a sense of fear. The Ducks’ last three trips to the postseason ended with Game Seven losses at home. They fell in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in round two, three and two respectively. The Ducks need to come out with some energy and put pressure on the Oilers back end early on. Ryan Getzlaf, who has had 10 points in the series but none in the Game Six blowout, needs to show up big. Jakob Silfverberg has at least a point in Games One through Five. He will also need to contribute after being held pointless in Game 6.
Above all else, John Gibson must be the better goalie, as Cam Talbot has looked great throughout this series. The longer the Ducks going without scoring, the harder it will be to crack Talbot and Co. later on. While it may be Randy Carlyle behind the bench instead of Bruce Boudreau, the track record isn’t much better. The Ducks current bench boss has never won a Game Seven.
If Edmonton wins tonight, it would be the first time a California team is not playing in the Western Conference Final since 2009. That matchup was between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The San Jose Sharks played in the Western Conference Final in 2010, 2011, 2016, the LA Kings in 2012, 2013, 2014 and the Duck in 2015.
Troy Geary is a hockey writer for theocho.ca. Look forward to regular contributions from Troy on all things Senators and NHL.
