Oilers 'gave it everything they had' in Western Conference Final
Players battled through injuries but couldn't find way to defeat Avalanche
By
Tim Campbell
NHL.com Staff Writer
Leon Draisaitl had four assists, Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, and Darnell Nurse had one assist in 20:18 of ice time in Game 4 on Monday. However, the Oilers could not hold off the Avalanche and were swept with a
6-5 overtime loss
at Rogers Place.
Draisaitl, who finished with 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in 16 postseason games, didn't disclose the injury he played with for the majority of the playoffs, though it was clear his skating was impaired in Game 4.
During the second period, he was barely able to skate off the ice after being checked off the puck by Avalanche forward Darren Helm.
"There's lots of guys that go through painful things like that," Draisaitl said. "I'm not going to make this about myself. Lots of guys that play through certain injuries."
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Oilers series coverage]
Nurse, who played more than 20 minutes in 12 playoff games despite playing the entire postseason with a torn hip flexor, also brushed aside the thought that injuries changed things for the Oilers.
"Everyone's banged up this time of year," Nurse said. "Our medical staff … taped it up and gave me some [anti-inflammatory medication], and away you go. There's no excuse when you get to this point in the season.
"You want to be on your game and play at a certain level. There's no excuse. Everyone's banged up this time of year. And myself personally, I wanted to be better in this series, and it's just added motivation for summer to come back and be a difference-maker next year."
Oilers goalie Mike Smith sat dejectedly at the podium for his postgame interview, having just allowed Artturi Lehkonen's rebound goal at 1:19 of overtime moments before.
But the veteran goalie perked up when asked for his reaction on some of his teammates playing through injuries.
"Warriors. Warriors, but those are your leaders," Smith said. "Those are guys other guys look up to, and when you're seeing your top players battle through injuries and throw it all out on the ice and give it everything they have, then you want to do the same.
"There are a lot of guys that you probably don't know about that are ice bags and Advils after games. But when it comes down to it, that's usually who wins, who wants to put it all out there the most, and unfortunately, we're sitting on the outside looking back in, but it's not out of the lack of try. Guys gave it everything they had, and guys are banged up and they're still going out there and trying to win us hockey games, and it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth for sure when you're even talking about this, to be honest. It's obviously disappointing, but big lessons learned."
McDavid will exit the playoffs as the NHL's leading scorer with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 16 games, one more than Draisaitl.
They are the fourth and fifth players to get more than 30 points and fail to make the Stanley Cup Final since the NHL expanded to 12 teams in 1967-68, joining Doug Gilmour of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1993 (35 points), and Rick Middleton (33 points) and Barry Pederson (32 points) of the Boston Bruins in 1983.
McDavid said he admired his teammates' willingness to empty the tank in the series against the Avalanche but lamented blowing a 4-2 lead in the third period of Game 4.
"I liked that there was no quit," McDavid said. "I don't think anyone quit out there, no one quit on each other. That's always a good sign, but we let it obviously get away."
McDavid said that the sting of defeat was still too fresh to say much about how far the Oilers progressed this season, having advancing the conference final for the first time since 2006, when they lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Cup Final.
"It feels like it's steps right?" McDavid said. "Every team kind of goes through it. They become a playoff team and then they get there most years and then they go on a little bit of a run and they learn that lesson and then it becomes their time to win.
"You look at a Colorado team that's been in that situation many, many times, and obviously they're knocking on the door right now. It's a step in the right direction, but that's all it is."
