Draisaitl with three scorer points - Grubauer's Avalanche victorious again - Islanders do not use the first match point
Leon draisaitl At first he was spot on, then he scored a second time in the follow-up and later set up for Connor McDavid - but it wasn't enough. Although the German top star stood out offensively with two goals and an assist, the Edmonton Oilers left the ice as losers against the Chicago Blackhawks 3-4 after conceding a late goal. A win on Friday is needed to level the best-of-five series and force a decisive fifth game, which would follow on Saturday. “We know the situation we are in and have to do everything we can to win two games in a row,” said Draisaitl in a press conference after the game.
The Cologne player had previously equalized twice. First 30 seconds after the 0:1 by the Finn Olli Määttä (10th minute), then the 1:2 by Chicago captain Jonathan Toews (20th minute), which Draisaitl (25th minute) answered after a good four minutes in the second period. A few seconds before the end of the middle period, the 24-year-old finally found his congenial strike partner McDavid (40th minute), who put the Oilers ahead 3:2. Draisaitl now has an impressive six points after three play-off games, but he would certainly prefer a win in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. "It's disappointing, no question about it," he said, also referring to the power play opportunities that Chicago had in game three: "We have to play more disciplined."
The Colorado Avalanche have a bright prospect of top position in the West for the play-off round of 16 in terms of goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer. After the 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars and the second success in the second game of the group phase of the four best teams in the Western Conference, the team from Denver can secure top spot against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. After his convincing performance in the 2-1 win against defending champions St. Louis Blues, the Rosenheimer watched from the bench as his deputy Pavel Francouz played flawlessly this time and managed a shutout.
The New York Islanders have to go into a fourth game Tom Kühnhackl and goalkeeper Thomas Greiss. The Islanders narrowly lost to the Florida Panthers 2:3 on Wednesday evening and therefore did not use their first match point. Kühnhackl was on the ice for New York's first goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau (37th). defender Korbinian Holzer Did not play in his Nashville Predators' 1:4 defeat against the Arizona Coyotes; the Predators are in the same situation as Draisaitl's Oilers with a series score of 1:2 after victories.
Photos: City-Press