Hockey star Leon Draisaitl will once again have to wait to hoist the Stanley Cup, as his quest for the title remains unfulfilled this season.
The German international’s Edmonton Oilers were eliminated in the first round of the NHL play-offs. In Game 6 of the best-of-seven series, the Canadian franchise, which also features Joshua Samanski, lost 2–5 to the Anaheim Ducks, leaving Anaheim with an insurmountable 4–2 series lead.
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Samanski picked up an assist on Connor Murphy’s 16th-minute strike that cut Edmonton’s deficit to 1–2. Draisaitl then fed Wassili Podkolsin for the 42nd-minute tap-in that narrowed the gap to 2–4.
The Oilers have reached the final twice in recent years.
For the second straight year, the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final only to fall to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton’s title drought now stretches back to 1990, when the franchise won its fifth championship.
For Draisaitl, this early exit is another bitter disappointment after the Olympics. In Milan, he and Germany’s supposedly strongest ever squad were beaten 2–6 by Slovakia in the quarter-finals.
