(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (2P) Edmonton Oilers
avalanche: 56-19-7 (119 points), beat Nashville Predators 4-0 in the first round, St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the second round
Oilers: 49-27-6 (104 points), beat Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in the first round, Calgary Flames 4-1 in the second round
Season series: COL 2-1-0; EDM 1-0-2
Game 1: Tuesday (20:00 ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS)
Two of the best players in the NHL in Colorado Avalanche, Nathan Nathan McKinnon and Edmonton Oilers striker Connor McDavid will face off when their teams meet in the Western Conference Finals for the Stanley Cup.
This will be the third time Colorado and Edmonton have met in the postseason. Avalanche won five games in the conference semifinals in 1997, and the Oilers won seven games in the quarterfinals of the conference the following season.
Colorado played in the conference finals for the first time since 2002, when it lost seven games to the Detroit Red Wings. Edmonton played in the conference final for the first time since 2006, when he qualified for the Stanley Cup final before losing in seven games to Carolina Hurricanes.
Colorado was led in the regular season by McKinnon, who had five points (three goals, two assists) in three games against Edmonton. Darcy Kumper started each game and developed 2-1-0 with 2.62 goals against the average and .921 percent save.
Oilers defender Tyson Barry, who played in his first eight NHL seasons with Avalanche 2011-19, knows what makes McKinnon special.
“Playing with him and his work ethic and the way he prepares and treats his body reminds me a lot. [McDavid]”Barry said. “They are at the top of their game and take care of themselves to make sure they are at the top of their game. In terms of gameplay, you look like us. He is a powerful, experienced player who can do anything. He will be a handful, but nothing we can’t handle. “
Edmonton was led by striker Evander Kane, who had five points (four goals, one assist) in the three games of the regular season against Colorado. McDavid (four assists) and Leon Drysight (two assists) combined six points but did not score.
Mike Smith started two games against Colorado, developing 1-0-1 with a 2.99 GAA and a .912 percent save. Miko Koskinen made 33 saves in his only start, losing 2-1 on penalties on April 9th.
Avalanche defender Eric Johnson said he believed training against McKinnon would help them against McDavid.
“Sometimes we actually take a lot of attacks on Nate and you say to yourself, ‘Wow, that’s the feeling.’ That’s a handful, “Johnson said.” They’ll always play and find a way to generate odds, how much exactly will you allow them and how much will they generate? But it definitely helps. When you fight the best, sometimes it makes it a little more easy in games. “
Interrupting games
avalanche: McKinnon was kept under chess by the Blues for most of their second-round streak, but he reminded everyone in Game 5 how dangerous he was. McKinnon finished with four points in that game, including scoring his second playoff hat-trick of his career. McKinnon has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 10 playoff games, which is tied with Cale McCarthy for Avalanche’s lead.
Oilers: It’s a small throw between McDavid and Draisaitl, each with seven goals and 19 assists in 12 playoffs. Draisaitl finished with an incredible 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) in five games against the flames, and McDavid had 12 points (three goals, nine assists), including a goal in the series in overtime in game 5. So instead of choosing just one, Colorado needs to be aware of both at all times.
Video: STL @ COL, Gm5: The second hat-trick in the MacKinnon playoffs
Goalkeeping
avalanche: Kumper missed Game 4 of the first round against the Predators after suffering an eye injury at the end of the first period of Game 3, but he managed to return against the Blues and start every game in this series. Kuemper had some ups and downs this postseason, but he was 6-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .904 save. Pavel Frankuz, who replaced Quemper against Nashville, is 2-0 with a 2.97 GAA and a .902 save.
Oilers: Smith started every game this postseason, going 8-3 with a 2.70 GAA, a .927 save and two rebounds. The 40-year-old finished strongly against Calgary in the second round after being replaced at the start of match 1 by Koskinen, who conceded five goals in 37 shots.
Numbers you need to know
avalanche: 34.5. Percentage of powerful play in the playoffs for Colorado, the best in the NHL. Avalanche are 10 to 29 with an advantage for men, continuing exactly where they left off in the regular season when they finished seventh in the NHL with 24 percent.
Oilers: 4.33. Goals in the playoffs for Edmonton, the best in the NHL. The Oilers have scored at least four goals in eight of their 12 games and at least five in six.
[RELATED: Complete Avalanche vs. Oilers series coverage]
X-factors
avalanche: Although. He may have had only three assists against the Blues, but whether he finds himself in the result or not, the defender can always make things happen. Although he leads Avalanche during the ice match in the playoffs (26:42) and he is a critical figure for both strength and penalty.
Oilers: Kane did not enter this post-season with much experience in the playoffs, but it does not matter. The striker was outstanding for the Oilers, leading the team with 12 goals and a hit rate of 23.5. His 15 points are also third behind McDavid and Drysight.
Video: CGY @ EDM, Gm3: Kane recorded a hat trick at 6:00
They said it
“Playing with Edmonton all year round, they have a really tight structure [Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft] there. So the team is difficult to play. They don’t give you much and are committed to both sides of the puck, despite the story around this team. Obviously this is probably changing now, but a really tough team to play. It will be an effort for the whole team to imprison these boys. We also need to stay out of the box, but we are confident. We feel that if we give our best, we can do it against everyone. “- Avalanche striker Nathan McKinnon
“I think we played well with Colorado all year. They have some natural gifts, we have some natural gifts and certainly as we make our way through this series, they will have some moments, but we will have good moments as well. We will do some things to try to prepare our team for this level of speed and skills that will be on the ice. “- Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft
Will win if…
avalanche: They can get a better estimate of the depth. Everyone knows what to expect from McKinnon, Makar, Gabriel Landeskog and Miko Rantanen, but when it mattered most in Match 6 against the Blues, Avalanche scored two goals from JT Compher, while fourth-line striker Darren Helm scored in the Remaining Series. 5.6 seconds. If Colorado receives this production again, it will continue until the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 2001.
Oilers: If Smith is at his best. He faced a powerful attack in the Flames in the second round and Avalanche will present the same challenge. Smith cannot concede soft goals if the Oilers want to qualify for the Cup final for the first time since 2006.
How do they look
Avalanche forecast composition
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan McKinnon – Arthur Lekonen
Valeri Nichushkin – Nazem Kadri – Miko Rantanen
Andre Burakowski – JT Compher – Nikola Obe-Kubel
Andrew Collano – Darren Helm – Logan O’Connor
Devon Tows – Cale McCarthy
Jack Johnson – Josh Manson
Bowen Bayram – Eric Johnson
Darcy Kumper
Pavel Frankuz
Scratched: Nico Storm, Alex Newhook, Ryan Murray, Curtis McDermid, Trent Miner
wounded: Samuel Girard (sternum)
Oilers predicts lineup
Evander Kane – Connor McDavid – Leon Drysight
Zack Hyman – Ryan Newgent-Hopkins – Jesse Puluyarvi
Warren Vogel – Ryan McLeod – Kyler Yamamoto
Josh Archibald – Derek Ryan – Zack Cassian
Nurse Darnell – Cody Sessie
Duncan Keith – Evan Bouchard
Brett Fist – Tyson Barry
Mike Smith
Miko Koskinen
Scratched: Philip Broberg, Devin Shore, Derrick Brasard, Chris Russell
wounded: None
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