DENVER | Connor McDavid only had two shots in the direction of Pavel Francouz. For only the second time since the start of the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers captain did not write his name on the scoresheet.
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Both times the Oilers lost by identical scores of 4-0. The first time was in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs. The second time was in Game 2 of the Western Finals.
“I’m probably not at my peak right now,” McDavid said. They did a good job of limiting our scoring chances and stuff like that. »
After a decent first period where both teams were scoreless, the Oilers fired just 11 shots in the final 40 minutes.
“They played a solid game,” McDavid muttered. Yes, they played a good game. »
McDavid didn’t feel like talking too much after that second setback in Denver. Number 97 took comfort in the thought that the series will now be transported to Alberta.
“We’ve been playing good hockey at home lately and we love playing in front of our fans,” he said. We will get back into this series with the next two games at home. »
Hats off to Makar and MacKinnon
To slow McDavid, Jared Bednar relied on his best pair of defenders in the first two meetings, Devon Toews and Cale Makar. But he also chose to use Nathan MacKinnon along with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin against the Oilers’ first unit.
“Devon and Cale were fantastic,” Bednar said. They were closing space, they didn’t give McDavid time. They are two very smart players, they don’t make mistakes with the puck. If they have no option, they just take the puck out of the territory. »
“But to stop McDavid, you need five players,” continued the Avalanche head coach. Nate is truly dedicated to winning. He hasn’t cheated once in this series. He found a way to contribute too. All five players need to play well against them. »
If the trio of Nazem Kadri (three assists), Artturi Lehkonen (1 goal, 1 assist) and Mikko Rantanen (1 goal, 1 assist) carried the attack on their shoulders in this second game, MacKinnon also had a great game . The number 29 scored a goal, but he mostly fired 11 shots against Mike Smith.
Flowers in Lehkonen
Often in the shadows during his days in Montreal, Lehkonen received praise from his teammates and his coach after this game of one goal and one assist.
«Artturi est un bourreau de travail», a dit Rantanen.
“He is a master forechecker,” added Kadri. That’s why it has such a big impact. He generates turnovers with his forecheck. He always goes to the net and he takes care of the thankless job. It’s a pleasure to play with him. »
“He’s tenacious with the puck,” Bednar added. He’s not the biggest, but he’s not scared. He always wants to win his battles and his races for the puck. He is very smart, he knows where his teammates are. He has similarities with (Valeri) Nichushkin. »
With the upper body injury to Darcy Kuemper in the second period of Game 1 of the Western Final, Pavel Francouz handled his nervousness very well in his first start against the Oilers. He got his fourth win since the start of the playoffs, but his first shutout.
“It’s a special feeling, it’s hard to describe it,” said the Czech. We played a very good match as a team. I was happy to hear the fans shout my nickname (Frankie), but I liked it better when they yelled Avs, Avs, Avs. »
