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Secondary scoring often plays a huge role when the Stanley Cup is handed out by commissioner Gary Bettman in mid-June. The Edmonton Oilers went into the final round motivated by last year's final round loss to the Florida Panthers in seven games. They had home-ice advantage this time around and they thought it would make a difference in the outcome.
It did not. While the Oilers had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to dominate their scoring, they were hoping to receive a number of key goals from their supporting cast. Perhaps the most important player in that group was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored 20 goals and 29 assists during the regular season.
The Oilers were hoping that Nugent-Hopkins could come close to matching the postseason stats he put on the board last year. Nugent-Hopkins tallied seven goals and 15 assists for the Oilers a year ago as they fell short in their quest for the Stanley Cup.
Nugent-Hopkins was not as productive this year in the Stanley Cup Finals as he had just 1 goal and 1 assist and was held off the scoreboard in five games against the Panthers.
Broken hand cost Nugent-Hopkins and Oilers
An injury was the source of his inability to drive the offense when McDavid or Draisaitl needed help. Nugent-Hopkins suffered the injury and was unable to contribute the way he wanted to when the Oilers had the puck.
He did not explain when or how he suffered the injury.
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“Nuge, to be able to gut it out with a broken hand and give us what he gave us, was pretty special,” McDavid said to reporters, concerning his teammates playing with injuries. “That was a pretty painful thing for him to go through, and it wasn't easy to watch him go through that. Pretty amazing what he was able to do.”
It seems likely that Nugent-Hopkins suffered his injury in the series against the Panthers, because he had been far more productive in Edmonton's three series against the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars.
Nugent-Hopkins scored 18 points in 16 games against those three opponents. He was the No. 1 pick for the Oilers in the 2011 NHL draft and he came into the league as a center. However, as the Oilers have become strong Stanley Cup contenders in recent years, he has often found himself on the wing.
Nugent-Hopkins has seen his scoring drop in recent years.
He scored a career-high 104 points (37 goals and 67 assists) in 2022-23, but that number fell to 67 points in 2023-24. The number dwindled to 20 goals and 29 assists this season.
