The Edmonton Oilers are the last Canadian team to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and after beating rival Calgary Flames in a quick but tough five-game series, they now enter Colorado to face an Avalanche team that has been maturing a rival for a couple of seasons and looks set to flourish this spring.
So will this be the end of a good writing career in Edmonton, or will they be able to bring down a team that many had chosen to win it all a few weeks ago?
While Colorado was expected to be here all season, the road to Edmonton has been much less secure and there was even a time when only playoff qualification was not guaranteed. But they have come together as the season progresses, with an improvement in the defensive game after the change of coach to Jay Woodcroft, a more stable goalkeeper of Mike Smith than what happened in the fold during the first months of the season and the best. global playoff performances we’ve still seen from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
They could reach their peak at the right time. And Colorado is already there waiting for them.
There’s a lot of star power in both lineups that could lead to an explosive series of attacks and will no doubt entertain you with an endless stream of awesome highlights. Here’s a look at the Western Conference Finals.
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
Allau: 2-1-0
Oilers: 1-0-2
What we learned about the Oilers
Connor McDavid, okay.
Leon Draisaitl, well.
The duet has been historic, really.
The two top scorers in the Stanley Cup playoffs fit the Oilers and have often shared a line in this career. But not only are they leading the NHL in postseason scoring, they are ahead of the competition. Both players average 2.17 points per game and have a 10-point lead behind the group.
McDavid takes out most of the ink, and deservedly so, as he has personally taken over the games on a regular basis, but Draisaitl has earned the same attention for his contributions and where he should fit into the discussion of Conn Smythe after two rounds, especially considering he looks like he’s playing injured. The German’s second-round effort was sublime, racking up 17 points in five games against the Flames (at McDavid’s 12) and scoring at least three points in each game. Absolutely ridiculous performance.
But we didn’t really know that McDavid and Draisaitl were elite players in the first two rounds, right? Somehow, both have risen to another level. Is there a league above the NHL for them?
While these two are the driving forces behind Edmonton’s first trip to Round 3 since 2006, there have been other key players. For example, Evander Kane, UFA’s risky mid-season signing, has been a resounding success in the top division and leads the playoffs with 12 goals in 12 games, including a couple of hat-tricks. If Edmonton moves forward, he may have a chance at the all-time record of 19 playoff goals in a season, which are held jointly by Reggie Leach and Jarri Kurri. Zach Hyman led the Oilers in goals against the Flames with six and will start the Western Final with a streak of five consecutive goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ’play in the center (six points against the Flames) has allowed the Oilers to load that top line and not feel an offensive pinch underneath.
But the main concern of these Oilers throughout the season was the goalkeeper, and specifically whether Mike Smith could be the man to get them, or at least not bring down the alien performances of the superstars ahead. It’s been 11 years since Smith was great at getting the Arizona Coyotes to the Western Finals, and while he’s not ready for the 2022 Oilers in the same way, he’s been good enough with a .927 playoff savings percentage that is better than the keeper than him. He will face round 3.
There were certainly moments, however, including a record-breaking blunder that cost the Round 1 Oilers game 1 and a goal from the other end of the ice in round 2 that allowed the Flames return to a Game 4 that Edmonton won anyway. Smith will continue to be the ultimate wildcard.
What we have learned from the avalanche
After being eliminated in the second round of the last three Stanley Cup Playoffs, the fourth time was the charm for Avs rivals to overcome the hump and return to the conference final for the first time since they were a leading power by Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg in 2002. Now Sakic holds the GM chair and the careful construction he has overseen has led Colorado to those days, with star power up and down the lineup.
The Oilers are used to having a team advantage at the top of their lineup with the McDavid / Draisaitl duo, but the Avs have some answers with Nathan MacKinnon, who is somewhere in the mix of the top five players in the world. today. MacKinnon, a bull as a player, will turn or cross your team on offense and will be, by far, the biggest handful Edmonton defenders have had to handle so far.
Where Edmonton’s main threats lie at the top of the depth chart among its forwards, Avs can really sting you from anywhere. Nazem Kadri has moved his best performance of the regular season to the playoffs with a point effort per game and has yet to come close to overcoming any line in suspension territory. And Edmonton will have no answer for Cale Makar, who has the same 1.30 points per game as MacKinnon on average, but from the blue line. And don’t forget teammate Devon Toews, who has a point in seven of Colorado’s 10 playoff games so far and may be the second-best player in the series.
Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like BT aint for me either. Louis (six games). The speed with which they have reached the West Final could help them overcome the last matches.
Interestingly, however, the goalkeeper may be a situation to do with Avs. Colorado is the best team in these playoffs to limit shots against (27 per game), chances to score against (20.03 per 60) and high-risk opportunities against (8.32 per 60), but Darcy Kuemper has exceeded the expected goals against the team.
He has not allowed a lot of real goals, with a GAA of 2.44 and only one game in which he allowed more than three, but this has been helped by a relatively lighter workload than some of his counterparts. the league. Kuemper’s less than 2.18 goals saved above expectations will be the lowest score of any remaining goalkeeper and if the Oilers ’superstars can do a better job of getting high-quality opportunities than Nashville or St. Louis. Louis (and who bets on McDavid and Draisaitl). doing just that), this could become a problem for Colorado.
ADVANCED STATISTICS Elimination numbers 5 against 5 using Natural Stat Trick
PLAYOFF TEAM STATISTICS
X-Factor Oilers: Mike Smith
Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get from Smith from play to play. Edmonton expects it to be more of a round 3 caramel filling performance than a maraschino cherry.
In seven of the 11 playoff games so far, Smith has allowed at least three goals, which could normally be a pressure point at this time of year, but Edmonton’s explosive attack has given Smith much more net. security so far. But now it gets interesting. When the Oilers have the best 4.33 goals per game in the league, Colorado is just behind with 4.30 goals per game. If there’s one team that could match Edmonton’s goal for goal, this is it.
So what do we get from Smith now? Will the Avs be too relentless and expose Edmonton’s expected weakness in the Final Four? Will Edmonton’s own offensive still be able to cancel everything Colorado can throw at them? Or can Smith elevate and surpass Kuemper at the other end, which may be the most important X-factor for Edmonton?
X-Factor Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon
We look forward to a huge MacKinnon series and a lot of attention will be paid to the clash he will have against McDavid, who has split the competition into two rounds. Undoubtedly, MacKinnon took charge of the games on his own: his goal in the 5th game against St. Louis was a top individual effort that looked like it would take them to round 3 before Colorado let slip the OT victory. But McDavid, with less support distribution, has regularly taken his team on his shoulders, turn by turn, as he has amassed playoff numbers not seen in Edmonton since winning cups in the 1980s with Wayne Gretzky. Will MacKinnon feel the pressure to match the magic that McDavid throws at his own little face-to-face narrative?
We have no doubt that MacKinnon is one of the few who could match McDavid, and in fact, Edmonton may not be as challenging as Nashville or St. Louis did. If MacKinnon equals, or surpasses, McDavid in this series, there won’t be many other places in the lineup where Edmonton can find an advantage over Colorado.