The Edmonton Oilers’ star Connor McDavid sees a silver lining in his team’s early exit from the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. According to McDavid, this kind of disappointment is something every team goes through before it finds success.
The Oilers ended their postseason after losing the Western Conference semifinal series to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights finished the job in six games with a 5-2 win on Sunday.
“I really feel like you’ve got to go through some of this to win,” McDavid told reporters.
McDavid has had a spectacular 2022-23 regular season with 64 goals and adding 89 assists. With 153 points, he became only the sixth player in NHL history to get over the 150-point mark. He also added 20 points in the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough for the Oilers to embark on a deep run they expected.
The Oilers previously reached the Western Conference Finals in 2021-22 but were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche.
“It feels like every team that wins and goes on a stretch of winning kind of experiences this,” McDavid added. “Obviously, it’s not what you want to do, not what you want to feel. That being said, I really feel that you’ve got to go through some of this to win. I think we’ve seen that all the way through. Let’s hope it’s the last time.”
