CALGARY – That was pure magic.
In a 3-2 league that usually equals its superstars as the playoffs are reduced to 2-1 intense defensive games, this five-game Battle of Alberta gave us 45 goals and an impressive superstar final. all superstars.
Connor McDavid created his only point of the night with a snipe of overtime, throwing the winner to Jacob Markstrom’s left post, a goal that ended Thursday’s first Calgary-Edmonton series in 31 years in an epic way.
“I’m happy to contribute on a night when I may not have had the best of myself,” said McDavid, who had seven multi-point games in a row before losing his mind before the overtime in Game 5.
“It’s hard to put into words what that meant to me,” added McDavid, who is moving into Round 3 for the first time in his NHL career. “Special, special to win. It was a lot of fun and the fans were amazing at both buildings, especially in Edmonton. Only the energy and atmosphere of the city have been amazing. “
This match has been played carelessly, with an average to poor goalkeeper at both ends. Of course, all that meant was another full night at the Battle of Alberta, one that gave us another NHL playoff record when the teams scored four goals in a 71-second period in the second. period.
It was a series that introduced new insights into an old rivalry, with a 132-foot goal in Game 4, a 17-point performance from Draisaitl, an average score of 5-4 (which was Thursday’s count) and a first goal. where the teams shared 15 goals, ironically, the only win in the series for a Calgary team that was supposed to be able to close out the Oilers.
This series took us back to the 1980s, and was the fifth highest-scoring five-game series in NHL history. Now, Edmonton awaits the Colorado and St. Louis winner. Louis, with most fans waiting for a clash between McDavid, Makar and MacKinnon.
What a McSeries it would be.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,” Draisaitl said of this trip in the third round. “But we’re only halfway there. We’re very excited, very happy with what we’ve achieved so far … but there’s more for us. That’s our ultimate goal. Let’s celebrate this for a day, tonight maybe, be -ne proud, happy.
“But we are preparing for the next round.”
Draisaitl’s 17 points were the third most in a series of playoffs in NHL history, behind Wayne Gretzky (18) and Rick Middleton (19) in 1983. But Draisaitl only played five games, scoring three points in three of them and four in the other. two.
Appropriately, he made the play to the winner before being blown “bubbling with mucus” after feeding McDavid. Watch the replay: Johnny Gaudreau tricked Draisaitl, giving him an undisputed record that he enthusiastically moved to McDavid, who passed a tab to the winner before Matt Tkachuk closed the gap on him.
You can summarize the difference in this series in one play: the two Edmonton leaders received a big hit and scored a huge goal, while the two best in Calgary made a smooth play (Gaudreau) and were not enough attentive to the best player in the game. while crossing the slot at OT.
Edmonton’s top players were the best in the series, while Calgary’s top players – starting with Markstrom (5.12 GAA, .852 saves) – were small. Gaudreau scored six points in the series. Five Oilers had as many or more, while Draisaitl had three points more than the entire front line of the Flames combined.
And don’t forget the 40-year-old goalkeeper.
When the series began, the word in Cowtown was, “When the Flames throw the same chances at Mike Smith as we at Jake Oettinger in Dallas, old Schmitty will have no chance.”
Well, Smith wasn’t perfect, but his serial numbers — 907 and 3.40 — were better than Vezina Markstrom’s candidate. Much better.
The team whose stars are the best stars, whose goalkeeper is the best goalkeeper, wins the series every time. This was very entertaining, but it was a five-game defeat where the best team is the one that advances.
Now the question is, how far can they go?
“We’re proud of our history,” head coach Jay Woodcroft began. “We are proud of the people at the Hall of Fame who have come through our organization. We are proud of the different careers that the team has done over the years.
“But our team wants to contribute to this story. Our team is looking to make its mark. “
Give some credit to the head coach for the first time. He pressed more appropriate buttons than the sage Darryl Sutter in this series and took more hockey out of more people. We’re not saying he coached Sutter, but his team was the best.
The fact that the Flames have never found the strong defensive game that has brought them this far, or that the best five-on-five line in the NHL this season has been ceded by the Edmonton front line, speaks to a coach who deployed its players in the right way. .
Even this coach, however, did not see a series of 45 goals and five games when he started to break the film after defeating the LA Kings in the first round.
“I didn’t see it, especially with the way Calgary defended all season,” Woodcroft admitted. “I certainly didn’t see myself giving up nine goals in the first game, that didn’t go as planned.
“But we always felt that we had the ability to score for ourselves. And as the series progressed, we improved on that. Tonight has not been our best time in terms of defense, but speaking of 20 men looking for each other and finding a way in less than perfect circumstances, I think tonight has been the best example “.
Edmonton goes on, Calgary goes home and we all leave Calgary thinking the same thing.
I hope they play again next spring.