EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) 鈥� The Edmonton Oilers, exiting the playoffs early this season after two marathon runs to the Stanley Cup Final, were a dented and depleted team.
The to Anahiem in Thursday鈥檚 Game 6 ended Edmonton鈥檚 season in the first round. The Oilers were by a Ducks team that won its first playoff series since 2017 with a roster that included a dozen players under the age of 25 and 14 who were making their NHL playoff debuts.
The Oilers lost to Florida in each of the last two Cup finals in series that lasted seven and six games, respectively. Some Oilers hinted at the beginning of this year鈥檚 playoffs that the regular season felt like a chore at times, and that they were relieved to start the postseason again with a shot at finishing the job and hoisting the Cup.
They didn鈥檛 get close.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been searching for consistency all year and we didn鈥檛 find it here in the playoffs,鈥� said captain Connor McDavid, who signed a before the season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough. We were an average team all year. An average team with high expectations, you鈥檙e going to be disappointed.鈥�
McDavid鈥檚 ankle, Leon Draisaitl鈥檚 knee, Jason Dickinson鈥檚 lower-body injury and penalty-kill specialist Adam Henrique鈥檚 undisclosed series-ending injury in Game 1 weakened Edmonton up the middle. Draisaitl missed the last 14 games of the regular season.
McDavid and Draisaitl spent the last two games of the series as linemates instead of centring separate lines. They battled, but weren鈥檛 able to will their team into a higher gear.
鈥淭oo hurt too soon,鈥� McDavid told The Canadian Press. 鈥淭he first round is always tough. It鈥檚 always chaotic. It鈥檚 tough to play through things so early on, as many guys did in here. Credit to our staff for making guys available and making sure they were as comfortable as possible. That being said, it鈥檚 not an excuse either. We expected to have a longer run than we did.鈥�
Draisaitl had three goals and seven assists in six games. McDavid, who was held off the scoresheet with the first two games of the series, finished with a goal and five assists.
Defense was Edmonton鈥檚 downfall, allowing 26 goals in six games. The penalty kill gave up eight goals on Anaheim鈥檚 15 chances. Edmonton鈥檚 power play started 0-for-6 in the first two games before finishing 4-for-14.
鈥淲e struggled on the PK all year too. We鈥檝e been searching for consistency there,鈥� McDavid said. 鈥淭he power-play could have been better to start the series.鈥�
Edmonton鈥檚 offense compensated for a bottom-tier ranking in the NHL in goals-against in the regular season. A leaky defense was magnified in the playoffs. Edmonton scored the first goal in the first five games, yet won just two of them.
鈥淧retty much the story for most of the year. We just didn鈥檛 defend well enough,鈥� coach Kris Knoblauch said. 鈥淵ou usually win or lose on your defensive play. It wasn鈥檛 good enough.鈥�
Down 3-1 after the first period in Game 6, the Oilers had time but the Ducks turned a neutral-zone turnover by Evan Bouchard into an odd-man rush and a 4-1 lead before the end of the second period.
鈥淎s much as it hurts, I think they鈥檙e just a better team,鈥� Draisaitl said.
Did the wear and tear of two long seasons factor into Edmonton鈥檚 earliest playoff exit in five years? Players weren’t interested in discussing it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an excuse,鈥� said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 get the job done.鈥�
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