Connor McDavid is still stinging from losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final by the slimmest of margins. Leon Draisaitl cannot keep thinking about it. “I’m not sure it’s something that you ever get over, really,” McDavid said.
“And time kind of just moves on.” The NHL now gets to see what two of the best hockey players in the world do now that they are more motivated than ever by the most brutal defeat of their careers. McDavid, Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are out to avenge losing to Florida by a goal after erasing a 3-0 series deficit, with their sights set on the championship that has eluded them.
Draisaitl got a new contract to stay around nine more years, McDavid is expected to get extended next summer, but the focus is on getting the job done now and hoisting the Cup in June — and they are favored to do just that. “We haven’t gotten the job done yet, which makes it even more special,” Draisaitl said. “We’re going to do this together.
” The oddsmakers are on their side. BetMGM Sportsbook has from the middle of the offseason through opening night had Edmonton as the league’s title favorite at 8-1, ahead of the defending champion Panthers and a pair of Western Conference rivals from the Central Division, Dallas and Colorado. The Oilers are banking on their latest deep run paving the way to getting over the hump.
Florida joined Pittsburgh in 2008-09 as teams in the last two decades to lose in the final and win the next year, which is now Edmo.
