The Edmonton Oilers reached the Stanley Cup final for the second straight season with only one win, and they are five wins away from winning their first Stanley Cup since 1990. While Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continued to play at the elite level, the depth of the Oilers has increased significantly. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a player who stepped up and was surprised to maintain average scores and has been a key offensive contributor throughout the playoffs. Most importantly, Draisaitl praised Nugent-Hopkins after Game 4.
“He has always been the best player in the series”
Draisaitl is on RNH.
– Ryan Rishaug (@tsnryanrishaug) May 28, 2025
Nugent-Hopkins, 32, scored five goals in 15 games and added 13 assists in 15 games, with an average of 1.20 points. This was a surprise considering his regular season wasn’t as strong as he scored 20 goals and added 29 assists in 78 games, with an average of 0.63 points. He is currently ranked fourth in the matches of McDavid, Draisaitl and Mikko Rantanen.
Now, the statistics can be argued that McDavid or Draisaitl are the best players in the entire playoffs, but no one can argue that Nugent-Hopkins are important contributors on both ends of the ice, especially against the Dallas star. Defensively, Nugent-Hopkins performed well and helped shut down Rantanen, who was considered the biggest threat to the series. As the Oilers continue to try to outperform the stars, the consistency of Nugent-Hopkins will be something they want to continue as they want to continue bringing the Stanley Cup back to Canada.
Oilers must end the series against the desperate star team
The Oilers have been great throughout the series, but will now have to end the series with a desperate star team and if they want to extend the season they will have to play the best hockey of the season. Everyone’s eyes will be focused on their superstars, but they will have to rely on some of their own depth to improve and hope their blue line will shut down the offensive power of the Oilers.
In the playoffs, Rantanen exploded with 21 points in 17 games, while the second player was Thomas Harley with 12 points, which was a gap. Jamie Benn had only 3 points, Mason Parade only 5 points, Matt Duchene had only 6 points, and Tyler Seguin had only 8 points. These players will need to find a way to attack if they have a chance to beat the Oilers.
Related: Oiler News and Rumors: McDavid, Ekholm, Picard, Game 1
Game 5 will be fun to say the least. The Oilers may not have Zach Hyman and Connor Brown, so the Stars will have to try to take advantage of the injured roster. Time will tell how the rest of the series will perform, but stars will need to improve greatly if they want to extend the season, and if they want to beat the desperate star, the Oilers will have to improve their game.
As the 2024-25 playoffs progress, please be sure to continue to pay attention Hockey writer As your source of news from around the NHL and the hockey world.
Source link
