That proved to be the difference.
“I knew eventually I would probably get a chance and tried to just be patient and be ready,” Kapanen said. “I think last game it was pretty obvious I had a lot of energy there and was just trying to make an impact that way and just keeping it simple, and [Wednesday] I was just lucky being in the right spot at the right time.”
Kapanen knocked in a loose puck off a scramble in the Vegas crease to give Edmonton the win and the series. It wasn’t as stylistic as the wraparound goal against Russia on Alexandar Georgiev, but he still considered it one of the biggest of his career.
“There’s a guy that we picked up off waivers and has played the majority of the games and when playoffs started, you’re inserting [Evander] Kane, you’re inserting [Trent] Frederic and other guys that are coming back from injury and he kind of got pushed out,” Knoblauch said. “Heading into playoffs, we knew we were going to need other guys, whether there were injuries or guys not playing well, or you need a certain role type and [Kapanen] the last two games comes up huge; a lot of big hits the other night, a lot of energy and [Wednesday] obviously with the goal.”
The Oilers are looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final after losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 a year ago. They have come together after dealing with numerous injuries toward the end of the regular season. Kapanen, in his 11th season, played on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, and they kept Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel off the score sheet in the final two games of the series.
“We have a good combination of everything,” Kapanen said. “Certainly, Leon is one of the better players offensively and defensively too, and me and [Podkolzin] are trying to use our speed and physicality to kind of get pucks back to him. I think it’s a good combination of a lot of things.
“There’s plenty of depth and a lot of experience, which I think is key. We’re an older team and we still have a lot of energy and guys feel good. We’re a dangerous team right now.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
