Las vigas. The Golden Knights of Las Vegas rode into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They won the sixth duel of the night against the Oilers away from home and are now ready for the Conference Finals.
“It’s great to be back among the top four, especially after last year’s disappointment,” top scorer William Carlsson told Sportbladet after the 5-2 win that finished in the quarter-finals.
Most of them were convinced.
Led by superstars Conor McDavid and Leon Drystell, the Edmonton Oilers have been rallying for the most explosive effort of the season at home at Rogers Place and force a Game 7 in Las Vegas this week.
At first, it also looked promising. Vegas’ Riley Smith equalized after just 24 seconds, but it was McDavid who equalized 55 seconds later and less than two minutes later, Warren Voegele made sure to give the home team the lead as well.
took the match
Then the fun is over. Vegas took over, turned around, outplayed and eventually won 5-2
It was a tough first period, but after that I think we were the better team, says William Carlsson when we talk to him afterwards.
– They came on a massive push in the third half but we played really good defensively and when they were still creating chances the goalkeeper, Adin Hill, was really on hand.
New dad Carlson himself scored his fifth goal into an empty net at the end, and before that Riley Smith also scored – and the real king of the match, Jonathan Marchesault, completed a real hat-trick in the second half.
So: The three forwards who have remained since forming the Golden Knights in fall 2017 – those dubbed “The Original Misfits” – have led the club to the Conference Finals.
– Yes, we still can, William continues, laughing.
– Very interesting, of course. Above all, it was great to see Marchessault. There you can talk about overheating in the right match.
For the Oilers, tonight’s defeat was as much of a blow as losing to the Florida Panthers to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They made it to the Conference Finals last year and this will be the year that Connor McDavid and Leon Dricetel finally win their first Stanley Cup.
– It feels like a missed opportunity and I don’t want to feel like that. But you may have to suffer losses like this before you can win. Hopefully this will be the last time, says McDavid.
It is unclear who awaits in the conference finals
For the Golden Knights, the Conference Finals now await either the Dallas Stars or the Seattle Kraken, who meet in Game 7 next night.
– They’re two good teams that are hard to play in, but it’s very nice to be back in the top four. Especially after last year’s disappointment, says Wild Bill.
However, first of all, the longing to get home and spend time with his son Beckham, who was born recently on Thursday.
– Yes, I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with him. It will be great.
In theory, with the loss of Edmonton, Matthias Ekholm and Matthias Janmark became available for Tre Kronor. Whether they can and want to play the toilet is unknown.
