Edmonton Oilers and Draisaitl Maintain Title Hopes
Hockey star Leon Draisaitl, along with the Edmonton Oilers, continues to chase the Stanley Cup dream in the NHL Finals.
Led by their outstanding captain Connor McDavid, the Oilers won Game 5 against the Florida Panthers 5-3, narrowing the series deficit to 2-3 in the best-of-seven series.
While Draisaitl did not score any points, McDavid shone with two goals and two assists. The Canadian now has 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in the playoffs and is only the third player in NHL history to surpass the 40-point mark in a single postseason. Before McDavid, only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux had achieved this feat.
“The guys really dug deep, it’s not easy to win in this arena, but we had our backs against the wall and found a way,” said game-winner McDavid. “We believe in each other. We believe we can do it, and we can accomplish anything. We stuck together, it was an impressive performance from everyone.”
Game six will take place on Saturday night in Edmonton. Draisaitl still has a chance to achieve the Oilers’ first triumph since 1990 and the first for a Canadian team since 1993.
So far, only one team has come back from a 0-3 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished this feat in 1942 against the Detroit Red Wings.