NHL Three Stars: Oilers destroy Ducks; Predators eliminate Blues
No. 1 Star: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
To say it was a good night for the Edmonton Oilers is an understatement. The team pummelled the Ducks 7-1 to force a Game 7. Draisaitl continued to be unstoppable against the Ducks, collecting a hat trick by the second period. It was all part of his five-point night.
No. 2 Star: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
The Preds netminder picked up his eighth win of this postseason making 23 saves in team’s 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Nashville eliminates the Blues to move on to their first Western Conference Final in franchise history.
No. 3 Star: Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers
Letestu was second on the Oilers in the scoring parade with four points. He assisted on Zack Kassian’s goal to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead, then scored two of his own to increase the lead to 5-0. Letestu’s final assist came on the third goal for Draisaitl.
Honorable Mention: Roman Josi skated away with two points in the Preds win. Nashville GM David Poile returns to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1990 … So, the Ducks held Connor McDavid without a point. That’s a positive. Rickard Rakell scored the lone goal for Anaheim. The Oilers, however, scored five goals in the first period. Griffin Reinhart and Eric Gryba drew into the lineup for Edmonton in place of Andrej Sekera and late-scratch Oscar Klefbom.
Did You Know? Draisaitl is the first Edmonton Oilers player with multiple four-point games in a playoff year since 1988 (Messier, Anderson, Kurri, Gretzky), per @PR_NHL.
Dishonorable Mention: The Blues could not win despite limiting the Preds to 18 shots on goal. David Perron was benched for all but one shift in the third period by Mike Yeo … John Gibson was pulled after allowing three goals against. His replacement, Jonathan Bernier allowed four. The Ducks are bad at Games 7 at home.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!
