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Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl reportedly played through injury during the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. Many fans were skeptical to see McDavid's point streak half in Games 6 and 7. The same thing happened with Draisaitl, who constantly received flak for his underperformance in the Stanley Cup Final series.
According to Zach Laing of Oilers Nation, the two players played through injuries. McDavid has an abdominal injury that will need surgery. On the other hand, Draisaitl was dealing with a broken rib and finger.
"Oilersnation has learned. McDavid has played through an abdominal injury that likely requires surgery, while Draisaitl has been banged up too, I've been told. He's believed to be dealing with a broken rib and finger." Zach Laing reported.
NHL fans soon started sharing their opinions in the comment section.
"Imagine having a healthy mcdavid, Draisaitl and Kane..." a fan said.
"Imagine a health Demko, Pettersson, Boeser in Game 7... oh oops nvm carry on with the 'what if excuse train,'" another fan said.
"Playing hockey with broken rib is crazy. Especially since Draisatl was hacked and cross checked every game. It would be super painful and potential for serious lung injury. You can see how tough it would be to execute powerful one timer shots with an injury like that," a fan wrote about the injury.
Here are some more reactions from fans on X:
"This wasn’t a mystery to me. It was obvious when McDvid couldn’t shoot like last yr and he was dealing with it all year. Draisaitl broke his finger & Rib vs Vancouver," a fan said.
"Hilarious. Right on time. Cats celebrating the cup and oilers reporters saying everyone on the team was injured!" a fan wrote.
"If the Oilers need to rely on these two that heavily every year, we will never reach a cup final again without them being banged up. We need depth," a fan pointed out,
Leon Draisaitl about the 4-3 loss to Florida and Connor McDavid
In the post-game interview after a 2-1 loss to Panther in Game 7, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl talked about the loss. He also spoke about McDavid's dedication and the unfortunate outcome, saying,
"It's tough to put into words right now, it's really, really hard. You are one shot, one period away from maybe winning the thing. Now you have to go through 82 regular season games again."
McDavid became the first player since 2003 to win the MVP despite being on the losing team. However, he did not come out on the ice to receive the award.
"I don't think he cares," Draisaitl said. "...[He] does everything right every single day just to win it one day. It's really hard, especially him [McDavid} being sad."
Connor McDavid scored a total of 42 points during the playoffs. However, despite his efforts, his quest to win the Stanley Cup for his team remains unfulfilled.
