EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) 鈥� There is no doubt Connor McDavid the Edmonton Oilers have in the Stanley Cup Final against the .
Their other Connor has played a crucial role in the comeback bid, too.
Connor Brown set up the early short-handed goal that in Game 4 on the way to that avoided a sweep, then scored one in Game 5 back across North America. Maligned for his lack of production in his first season with Edmonton, Brown finally looks like himself 20 months after in his left knee, and that could not be coming at a better time for the Oilers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so nice to see a guy stick with it after going through so much adversity,鈥� coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday. 鈥淚t just took him a while to build his game. This should be expected because of his injury, and he just continually got better throughout the season. ... His play right now has been exceptional."
Brown injured his knee Oct. 17, 2022, in just his fourth game with the Washington Capitals, who at the time to bring some of the speed and scoring he showed throughout his first seven NHL seasons with Toronto and Ottawa. Instead, he leaned on short-time teammates John Carlson and Carl Hagelin and team staff to handle the mental aspect of such a traumatic injury.
鈥淥bviously, it wasn鈥檛 an easy year for me,鈥� Brown said on Cup final media day. "I come in, I鈥檓 in a situation where I don鈥檛 really know anyone, I鈥檓 just getting my feet wet and get injured. It was a big set of adversity for me, but it all kind of led me here.鈥�
Brown, who turned 30 in January, signed an incentive-heavy contract with the Oilers that paid him the league-minimum $775,000 with $3,225,000 in performance bonuses. One of the reasons fans were critical of Brown putting up just 12 points in 71 games is that extra money counts against the team's salary cap expenditures next season.
He had four points through three rounds before making a major impact in the final.
鈥淚 think a lot of people lost faith, but he's an unbelievable player,鈥� said top-line winger Zach Hyman, who overlapped with Brown for parts of four seasons with the Maple Leafs from 2016-19. 鈥淚 played with him for a long time, so I knew how good he can be. He鈥檚 showing it every night. At the highest stage, he鈥檚 one of best players. Credit to him.鈥�
Brown, a decade removed from starring in junior as a teammate of McDavid's and playing for Knoblauch with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters, knew he was not fully healthy at the start of this season and struggled to handle that limitation. Slowly, he felt the jump in his legs come back, feeding the speed he's now unleashing on the Panthers.
With the dark days of the injury and rehab behind him, Brown 鈥渏ust started to just play again," and suddenly hockey became fun again.
鈥淥ver the last bunch of months, it just doesn鈥檛 feel like work,鈥� Brown said. "I鈥檓 excited to come to the rink day in, day out, especially with this group. It鈥檚 good to be back.鈥�
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
