EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid was held without a point, so Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers’ other top players stepped up to put them one win from the Stanley Cup.
Draisaitl made his first major impact in the final by setting up Warren Foegele’s early goal, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored in the second period and the Oilers forced a Game 7 by beating the Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 6 on Friday night.
“At the end of the day, we play to win and this is going to be the hardest game for us,” Draisaitl said. “We have to bring our game again.”
They are the first team to tie the final after falling behind 3-0 in the series since the Detroit Red Wings in 1945. The Oilers have the chance Monday night in Sunrise to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only NHL teams to come all the way back from that deficit to hoist the Stanley Cup.
“There was an unshakable belief,” Hyman said. “No matter what happened throughout the year, we always believed we could pull through. No matter how dire the circumstances, we think we have a chance. It was a long season facing adversity which prepared us. The next one will be the hardest. It feels unbelievable to do it in front of this crowd. To have a chance to win now, this is our first opportunity to win.”
The opportunity to make hockey history and end Canada’s three-decade-long Cup drought exists only after McDavid’s heroics with four points apiece in Games 4 and 5 to take the Oilers from the brink to belief. This was the first time in his nine-year career they’ve won a game in which he did not have a point or put a shot on net.
Draisaitl, his longtime running mate from Germany who has also been league MVP and considered among the best players in the world, lit the spark in Game 5 after being largely…
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