This is his best time in the NHL since arriving in Denver in the fall of 2011.
– Clearly. Of course this is a fun time. We have stumbled in the second round a few times, so this is the first time I get to experience a semifinal series in the Stanley Cup.
– But it is important to stay in the present and enjoy the journey. Not to start thinking about a possible final. It is a tough team we meet, which has been hot and has the best chain in the world, says Gabriel Landeskog before Saturday’s first meeting in Rogers Place.
He is thinking, of course, of the duo Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. An attacking pair that tops the points league in the NHL playoffs right now and are known for being difficult to stop.
You had sold out, of course, and enthusiastic fans at home in the Ball Arena during the two matches earlier this week. How is that experience?
– Everything grows as you advance a few rounds in the playoffs. The attention and media coverage is increasing, the pressure on the city is growing. I try to enjoy it, but at the same time it is important to block as much as you can to be able to focus on the matches. But on the ice, it’s just gasping.
Why are you better this year and have made it to the semifinals?
– I think there are several reasons. We who have been here for many years have gained experience and it is important when it comes to how to handle the press during the playoffs. Look at St. Louis this year, who went on to win with an experienced team held together. You have to learn how to win in a playoff. There are such small margins, so I think it is probably necessary to lose a few years before you are ready to pay the price required.
– Then we made some tries on the deadline which gave us both more toughness and an upgrade on certain items. I’ve thinking of the tall hill Josh Manson and Andrew Cogliano in the attack, who is good at boxplay. And Artturi Lehkonen, who came from Montreal, has been a positive surprise. I did not know much about him when he came to us. He fits in everywhere, but has above all found chemistry with Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen.
You yourself have jumped around a bit in the top chains this year and not always played with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen?
– Yes, we have the flexibility that over the years we have played with different teammates, so it will not be a big deal. We have the luxury of being able to change some people in the chains and it still works well. At this time of year, you do not go around thinking about the chemistry with your teammates. We have a deep team and try to take advantage of it.
Your 14 points, 7 goals and 7 assists, in twelve matches in this year’s Stanley Cup belong to the top of the team, how satisfied are you with what you have achieved?
– It is important that we all contribute and when the team goes well, the production comes. I feel refreshed and fresh, so there is nothing to complain about.
If you are going to defeat Edmonton, do you have to stop McDavid and Draisaitl?
– Of course it is so. They are dangerous every time they are on the ice and now that the match series is moving to Edmonton they get the last changes, so now we all have to take great responsibility in the defensive game. But the Oilers also have Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane. It’s going to be tough to stop them all, but it’s a fun task. Yes, a wonderful task we are faced with now.
You and your wife Melissa have two children now, how has life alongside the ice changed in recent years?
– Yes, it is an absolutely wonderful way to have a different focus on life outside the ice now. It is easier to come home and let go of hockey when you have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and a son, who turned one in March.
– In their lives, there are big events when the garbage truck arrives or when an excavator appears on the street. The other day we were out jumping in some puddles outside our house, haha…
