Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are motivated to win the Stanley Cup now

Connor McDavid is still stinging from losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final by the slimmest of margins. Leon Draisaitl cannot keep thinking about it.

“I’m not sure it’s something that you ever get over, really," McDavid said. "And time kind of just moves on.”

The NHL now gets to see what two of the best hockey players in the world do now that they are more motivated than ever by the most brutal defeat of their careers.

McDavid, Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are out to avenge losing to Florida by a goal after erasing a 3-0 series deficit, with their sights set on the championship that has eluded them. Draisaitl got a new contract to stay around nine more years, McDavid is expected to get extended next summer, but the focus is on getting the job done now and hoisting the Cup in June — and they are favored to do just that.

“We haven’t gotten the job done yet, which makes it even more special,” Draisaitl said. “We’re going to do this together."

The oddsmakers are on their side. BetMGM Sportsbook has from the middle of the offseason through opening night had Edmonton as the league's title favorite at 8-1, ahead of the defending champion Panthers and a pair of Western Conference rivals from the Central Division, Dallas and Colorado.

The Oilers are banking on their latest deep run paving the way to getting over the hump. Florida joined Pittsburgh in 2008-09 as teams in the last two decades to lose in the final and win the next year, which is now Edmonton's task at hand.

“There’s little learning lessons that they probably applied into the next season, and we’re looking to do the same,” Draisaitl said. “Hopefully we can follow into their footsteps a little bit: lose one, and then the next year win it.”

Longtime executive Ken Holland spoke to players after the final and said it still stuck with him when, as Detroit GM, the Red Wings lost to the Penguins in Game 7 in '09, even though they won the previous year. Holland and the team parted ways, and Stan Bowman took over running hockey operations in July.

Bowman's top offseason priority was locking up Draisaitl, which he did in early September for $112 million through 2033 with the highest salary cap hit in league history at $14 million annually. The job is to win now and worry about financial implications later.

“It’s our job to try to surround him with the best players we can and give our team the best chance to win,” Bowman said. “Certainly, there’s going to be challenges in the future, but that’s for us to figure out down the road.”

Edmonton kept most of the group that forged its way to the final, including Corey Perry and trade deadline pickup Adam Henrique, then added veteran forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. An August surprise saw the departures of young defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway when they signed offer sheets with St. Louis that the Oilers declined to match.

McDavid on July 31 would have called it a great offseason. By September, it was less of a ringing endorsement.

“We had to lose some guys along the way, and that’s unfortunate, but that’s the cap system,” said McDavid, who is coming off a 100-assist season and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as near-unanimous playoff MVP despite losing the Final. "Good teams have good players, and it’s tough to keep them all together and ultimately you lose guys to the system and we lost a couple of guys. ... We improved in some areas, and maybe we took a step back in different areas.”

Any step back from a return to the final would be a massive blow, but so would another loss like the one Draisaitl described as gut-wrenching.

“Obviously, there’s a sense of being proud of what we did,” he said. “But at the end of the day, nobody talked about the Edmonton Oilers, right? And our goal and what we all want is the last day of the season for everyone to talk about us.”

Until then, McDavid and Draisaitl plan to let their play do the talking.

“We’ve gathered a lot of experience, a lot of positive signs over our playoff run,” Draisaitl said. "We’re ready to to attack again and apply these messages and apply these moments that we’ve learned along the way last season, the last playoffs, into this season. But, of course, we all know that you have to get there.”

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson and AP freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Vancouver Canucks' Ty Mueller (39) carries the puck ahead of Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) during the third period of a preseason NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs, left, watches Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) misses the net during first-period preseason NHL hockey game action in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) congratulates Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov (16) after Florida won Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Edmonton Oilers' defensive coach Paul Coffey stands with Connor McDavid (97) and Leon Draisaitl (29) during practice in Edmonton on Thursday June 20, 2024. The Edmonton Oilers take on the Florida Panthers in game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup final on Friday. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

SELVA DI VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — Marco Odermatt finally conquered the Saslong and the Swiss standout did it in style.

Odermatt put down what he called “one of my best” downhill runs on Saturday to win a World Cup race in Val Gardena as the three-time overall World Cup champion looked like back to his imperious best.

The 27-year-old beat Swiss teammate Franjo von Allmen by 0.45 seconds for his first victory at the resort in the Italian Dolomites. Odermatt had had four podium finishes there — including in Saturday’s super-G — but had never been better than second.

It was Odermatt’s 40th World Cup victory but only his third in downhill.

"It was one of my best downhills," Odermatt said. “If you want to win the downhill, you need the perfect run and today already on the top, which is not really my section, I could ski very well and finally I also jumped well, and then it was really perfect. So yeah, very happy with the run.”

It had also been a less than stellar start to the season for Odermatt — by his lofty standards — and he yelled out in joy several times after crossing the line, before taking off his skis and raising them up and letting out another long shout.

Before Odermatt came down it had been an incredibly tight race, with the top three separated by just 0.02. In the end, American skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished third, with Nils Allègre of France missing out on what would have been only his second ever podium finish by one hundredth of a second.

It was Cochrane-Siegle's third podium after also finishing third in Val Gardena four years ago and winning the super-G in Bormio 10 days later.

“It was good skiing, it was fun,” he said. “Gardena is a really challenging hill to ski, in the sense of skiing fast. I’ve had runs here where I thought I’d put down a good one, and it’s been seconds out, so you really never know until you cross the finish line.

"I was just focusing on trying to carry speed as much as possible. When I ski my best I do that — keeping skiing really simple, back to basics.”

Odermatt won the downhill World Cup title last season, as well as the super-G, giant slalom and overall crystal globes.

The only previous downhill this season was in Beaver Creek, where Odermatt finished second to teammate Justin Murisier.

Odermatt moved 78 points above Murisier in the downhill standings and 50 points above Henrik Kristoffersen in the overall.

The circuit moves to nearby Alta Badia where there is a giant slalom on Sunday and a slalom the following day.

Meanwhile, Lindsey Vonn finished 14th in a super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland to mark her return to World Cup skiing at age 40. Her comeback continues in a super-G in St. Moritz on Sunday.

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt listens to the national anthem on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen, left, and third-placed United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebratesat the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)