"Sorry about my voice": Oilers' McDavid could hardly speak following Game 7 win
The Edmonton Oilers are advancing to the Western Conference Final following tonight’s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, and Connor McDavid couldn’t be happier.
The Oilers outmatched the Canucks through the first 50 minutes of this one and held what appeared to be a comfortable lead. Goals from Conor Garland and Filip Hronek made the final few minutes extremely tense, but the Oilers were able to hang on.
Just moments after this one ended, McDavid tried to do an on-ice interview, but was struggling to do so.
“Congrats, go get a lozenge”
Connor McDavid has already lost his voice after a massive game 7 victory šš¤£ pic.twitter.com/Hj8ejKI4hj
ā Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 21, 2024
“I thought we defended well,” McDavid said. “We played two really good games, backs were against the wall. Sorry about my voice here.”
Shortly after this clip was released, another came out showing exactly how the Oilers captain may have lost his voice to begin with.
McDavid not having a voice for the post-game interview because he yelled too much celebrating the win š pic.twitter.com/3IpkEQSLiP
ā Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) May 21, 2024
Skinner redeems himself
A big storyline in this series was Stuart Skinner, though not necessarily for the reasons he would have liked. The 25-year-old struggled through the first three games, and wound up backing up the next two as a result.
He got the call in Games 6 and 7, however, and though he wasn’t tested a ton, made some key saves when he had to. Afterward, he spoke about how the support of his teammates played a big part in him being able to bounce back.
Sam Lafferty is set up for a decent look but can’t beat Stuart Skinner #Canucks | #LetsGoOilers
š½ļø: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/5Bm8k4XB35ā CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) May 21, 2024
“It’s everything, being able to have the support of your teammates,” Skinner said. “You’re with them for potentially years on end, and you’re with them every single day throughout the season. They’re your best friends. They’re your brothers. Being able to have that support from them means the world.”
Despite a dominant first period, the Oilers headed into the first intermission tied at zero with the Canucks. That changed in the second, as Cody Ceci and Zach Hyman were both able to find the back of the net.
A BOUCH BOMB TIPPED BY HYMAN! š£ pic.twitter.com/GcbUOBpSQD
ā Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 21, 2024
Later on, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was able to get one on the power play. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but it wound up being the biggest of the bunch.
The @EdmontonOilers are taking a three-goal lead into the third period of #Game7 thanks to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins! šŖ #StanleyCup
šŗšø: @espn ā”ļø https://t.co/Pp9X7OGP3W
šØš¦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ā”ļø https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/cfOeOvql0oā NHL (@NHL) May 21, 2024
“Not really, to be honest,” Nugent-Hopkins responded when asked if it had set in that he scored the game-winning goal. “Still reeling a little bit from the end there. It takes every single guy in here. Definitely proud to get the job done with this group.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch made some great decisions throughout this series, particularly with goaltending. The 45-year-old had no interest in talking about himself, however, instead complimenting the effort of his entire group.
“I think everyone contributed very well,” Knoblauch said. “Our bottom line guys on the penalty kill. Mostly, that’s the fourth line guys, plus Nuge. That penalty kill that we got in the first period, I think that’s about as good as we could have played. And then, the final four minutes. That could be a different game, but we played, I thought, really well.”
The Oilers will now prepare to play the Dallas Stars. The two met on three occasions this season, with the Oilers coming out on top once. Game 1 is set for Thursday at 6:30 pm MT.
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