For Leon Draisaitl, the dream of the Stanley Cup lives on: In the seventh game of the NHL quarter-final series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers won 3-2.
Leon Draisaitl didn’t waste a single meter on the ice in the final minutes and was finally able to celebrate making it to the finals of the Western Conference. For only the second time in his career, the national ice hockey player has made it this far in the playoffs of the North American professional league with the Edmonton Oilers – but now he has to deal with the strong Dallas Stars. “This will be a game for men,” said Draisaitl, adding that the Stars are “a really good team. They will be ready for us, but we will be ready for them too.”
In game seven in the hard-fought series against the Canucks, the Oilers won 3-2 (0-0, 3-0, 0-2) away on Monday evening (May 20, 2024/local time) and secured the necessary fourth win. Draisaitl contributed to the success with his 16th assist. The Cologne native has scored or assisted at least one goal in every playoff game this season.
Conference semifinals arrow right
Trembling at the end
“We did a great job in the first two thirds. We fought hard all evening, I’m proud of the boys. We gave ourselves a chance to get to where we want to be. But there’s still so much work to do in front of us,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored to make it 3-0 after Draisailt’s assist. “There are four teams left, everyone deserves it at this point.”
In goal again was Stuart Skinner, who only had to fend off 17 shots – including high-caliber shots from the hosts in a hectic final phase. After temporarily leading 3-0, the Oilers lost control in the final minutes and suffered two goals. “I think we did a good job, we bent but didn’t break,” Oilers star Connor McDavid said.
Dallas will be a high hurdle
The finals of the Western Conference are now against Dallas. To reach the final series for the Stanley Cup, a team needs four wins in the best-of-seven series. Game one takes place on Friday night in Dallas. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers will determine the other final participants.
Draisaitl has been in the conference finals once so far. Two years ago there were four defeats against the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Like his teammate McDavid, Draisaitl is one of the exceptional professionals in the NHL. Both have been honored with several individual awards throughout their careers, but have not yet won the Stanley Cup.
