Connor Brown (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)EDMONTON – “Go down the list, we had guys step up.”
Defensively, that’s not how they drew it up. But, in this case, a win is a win.
And a win helps the Edmonton Oilers vanquish the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth consecutive playoff.
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Connor McDavid and the Oilers were down 0-2 to begin the series. It looked like the Kings had all of the momentum. And then the Oilers took it away from them.
But how did they do it?
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“Just digging in,” McDavid revealed to reporters after the series victory. “Just willed it out. (Its) not easy to beat a team four years straight.”
Two of the Oilers best players over the course of the series were Connor Brown and Calvin Pickard. After coming in to relieve Stuart Skinner in Game 2, Pickard became the starter for the rest of the series.
And he won four straight games.
“Picks (Pickard) gave us a chance to win every night,” McDavid stated. “Played great these last four games.”
McDavid Praises Big Connor Brown Performance
Brown had a big game for the Oilers. He recorded the empty net goal and two assists in 16:12 ice time. Additionally, he had one important blocked shot at the end, right before his goal to seal the victory.
“Brownie (Connor Brown) is obviously a big part of that penalty kill and they were great,” McDavid raved. “Massive kill in the third and he pitches in with some offense as well.”
Because of the slew of injuries the Oilers had over the last month of the season, a lot of players played more minutes and were able to find their game before the team hit the playoffs.
“Brownie’s confident, lot of guys have confidence,” McDavid revealed. “You need that at this time of year. You need everybody feeling good about themselves.”
McDavid took time to emphasize the performance of Brown in the game. Through his point of view, it was one of the best he’s seen from him, if not the best.
“You need different guys stepping up. I thought Brownie had his best game as an Oiler. He was fantastic.”
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