A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Evan Davis

Well there you have it folks, the hockey gods have blessed us with one of the greatest matchups, with a trip to the Cup Final on the line. Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have a date in Colorado on Tuesday night with Nathan Mackinnon and the Avalanche to open up Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. We all expected the Avalanche to reach this point, but the same can’t be said for the Edmonton Oilers.

The Avalanche broke a 20 year drought without reaching the Western Conference Final with a thrilling win in Game 6 that saw Darren Helm score his first playoff goal in over six years with a tally that came with 5.6 seconds left in regulation. It was the depth of the Avalanche that stepped up huge in the biggest game of the year for the club. J.T. Compher contributed two goals tonight along with Darren Helm.

Nathan Mackinnon was locked up this entire series by Ryan O’Reilly, as all of Mackinnon’s goals came in his hat trick performance in Game 5. Mikko Rantanen had one goal in this series and it happened to come on an empty netter in Game 4. Gabriel Landeskog stepped up big time, contributing 5 points during the 6 games.

It was the defense of the St. Louis Blues that ultimately kept this series close, after the Blues were swept last year by this same Avalanche team. The Blues got contributions from everyone during this series, which is no surprise given the fact that 11 players on this current Blues roster were on the roster that won the cup back in 2019. Ville Husso had been atrocious in the playoffs prior to stepping in for Binnington after the scary injury, but it was the skill and will of the entire Blues team that allowed them to keep this series tight.

The Avs were all over Ville Husso and the Blues in Game 6, peppering the Blues goaltender with 39 shots compared to the 20 shots the Blues took. Husso took on a huge role in this series after Jordan Binnington was injured just midway through Game 3 after a collision with Nazem Kadri. Husso was a bit shaky in games 3-4, but he was dominant in games 5-6, and ultimately it was the Avalanche who emerged victorious.

The Edmonton Oilers are up next for this strong Avalanche team, and this Oilers team is no fraud after dismantling the Calgary Flames in five games. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for 29 points in the series vs Calgary and carried the Oilers to a trip to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2006. They also received major contributions from Evander Kane and Zach Hyman offensively, and their top 4 defenseman showed up in the big moments.

After giving up 9 goals to Calgary in Game 1, the Oilers buckled down, and proceeded to win the next four games. I will say one thing, the credit of the Oilers success has nothing to do with Mike Smith, who is without a doubt the worst goalie remaining in the playoffs. This makes me a little concerned about how far the Oilers can take this series, but we’ve seen so many instances where a guy you expect to be a shell of himself ends up playing to the best of their capability.

If the Oilers want to advance within four games of hoisting Lord Stanley, we are going to need to see vintage Mike Smith because the way he played vs Calgary won’t cut it vs Colorado. I will give credit to the defense of the Oilers, who for the second straight game, held one of the best first lines in the NHL (Tkachuk-Lindholm-Gaudreau) to just one total point. It will be interesting to see how they handle yet another explosive top line in Mackinnon-Landeskog-Rantanen, who were also limited in their series vs St. Louis.

I can’t wait for Game 1 on Tuesday night and I will be sure to grab my popcorn to witness Nathan Mackinnon matchup against Connor McDavid. The fact that this is the series to go to the Cup Final will only make this series better and I really hope it goes 7 games. It will come down to coaching at the end of the day and both coaches have been phenomenal throughout the regular season and continued to elevate their level of coaching when it matters most.

Although the Avalanche have a high powered offense and the Oilers have some concerns in net, I truly believe this series goes 7 games for the sole reason that no one can stop McJesus and Draisaitl. My Western Conference Finals prediction is Avalanche in 7 games, as I believe this is the team that will punch a ticket to the Cup Final for an epic Stanley Cup Finals matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. This happened to be my lame prediction before the playoffs began, and I believe my prediction comes true.