The ultimate NHL prize, the Stanley Cup, will remain elusive for ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl this season. The German international, along with his Edmonton Oilers, has been eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
The Canadian franchise, which also features Joshua Samanski, fell to the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series. This decisive victory gave Anaheim an unassailable 4-2 lead in the series.
Samanski contributed an assist to Connor Murphy’s goal, which temporarily made it 1-2 for Edmonton. Draisaitl set up Wassili Podkolsin for the Oilers’ second goal, making it 2-4. The Oilers previously faced a similar playoff fate against the Ducks in 2017, being eliminated in the second round. Anaheim is now set to face either John-Jason Peterka’s Utah Mammoth or the Vegas Golden Knights, with the latter currently leading their series 3-2.
«It always hurts, it’s painful, but Anaheim simply deserved it. At the end of the day, they were just better than us,» Draisaitl stated. «We never really found what it takes to go all the way. It wasn’t good enough. As much as it hurts – they were just better.»
Oilers captain Connor McDavid echoed these sentiments: «We’ve been searching for consistency all season, and we didn’t find it here in the playoffs either,» he said. «It’s tough. We were an average team all season. An average team with high expectations – you’re going to be disappointed.»
Edmonton Oilers’ Recent Final Appearances
The Edmonton Examiner described the elimination by a seemingly weaker opponent as «unfathomable.» The report highlighted that the Oilers were plagued by the same issues that persisted throughout their season: inconsistency, a lack of effort and intensity, defensive shortcomings, goaltending struggles, and poor penalty killing.
In the past two seasons, the Oilers had reached the Stanley Cup Final, only to be defeated by the Florida Panthers on both occasions. Edmonton has not lifted the coveted Stanley Cup since their last triumph in 1990, when they secured their sixth title.
For Draisaitl, this early playoff exit marks another significant disappointment, following a similar outcome at the Olympic Games. Representing what was considered the strongest German national team in history, they were decisively defeated by Slovakia 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
NHL Playoffs: Sturm Advances with Minnesota
Meanwhile, thanks in part to German international Nico Sturm, the Minnesota Wild have reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. The 30-year-old forward provided an assist in their 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their first-round series. In the next round, Minnesota will face the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche, who swept the Los Angeles Kings 4-0.
Sturm was involved in Quinn Hughes’ crucial opening goal at the 7-minute mark. After Dallas had briefly taken a 2-1 lead, goals from Wladimir Tarasenko (38th minute), Hughes (51st minute), and Matthew Boldy (59th and 60th minutes), who scored twice into an empty net, secured Minnesota’s advancement.
This victory marked Minnesota’s first playoff series win in eleven years, with their last one coming against the St. Louis Blues. Dallas, who had reached the Western Conference Final in the previous three years, had entered this matchup as the favorites.