Connor McDavid acknowledged that injuries contributed to the Edmonton Oilers' first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
"Too hurt, too soon," McDavid said after Thursday's Game 6 defeat. "The first round is always tough. It's always chaotic, and it's tough to play through things so early on, as many guys did in here. Credit to our staff for making guys available and making sure they're as comfortable as possible. That being said, it's not an excuse either. We expected to have a longer run than we did. It is what it is."
McDavid appeared to sustain an ankle injury in Game 2 and played in Tuesday's Game 5 despite being a game-time decision. Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl returned to Edmonton's lineup for Game 1 after missing the last 14 contests of the regular season with a lower-body injury. Jason Dickinson was also a game-time decision for Game 5 but played.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch noted that several Oilers players fought through significant injuries throughout the series.
"We've got some guys with some fractures that were playing through things that made it really difficult to play at their best, but I certainly love their effort, how they dug in, and they were absolutely not gonna pull themselves out of the lineup," Knoblauch said. "I thought they contributed as much as they could."
Draisaitl reiterated just how difficult it was for the team to compete while playing through so many injuries.
"It's hard. Our centers - one, two, three - are playing through stuff," Draisaitl said. "But at the end of the day, you gotta find ways to win games in any way. You gotta grind one out, you gotta defend one out. Injuries, yeah, they suck, and it hit us at a bad time certainly, but at the end of the day, they were the better team."
Despite all the issues, McDavid and Draisaitl both pointed to the Oilers' inability to reach their top gear as the reason for the early exit.
"That's been the whole year. Searching for consistency all year," McDavid said. "Obviously, we didn't find it in the playoffs."
"Never really found what you need to find this time of year, especially to go all the way," Draisaitl said. "In my opinion, just not good enough."
Edmonton finished the regular season second in the Pacific Division with 93 points, marking the franchise's lowest points percentage since 2018-19. The Oilers lost in the Stanley Cup Final the previous two years.
"It was tough. We were an average team all year," McDavid said. "An average team with high expectations, you're gonna be disappointed. We just never found it."
