Can the Oilers rebound after their Game 1 loss? History is on their side

Sports

add

DALLAS – The Edmonton Oilers suffered a dispiriting loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference final on Wednesday, in which they fell apart in the third period, mostly because of their inability to kill penalties.

As bad as that 6-3 defeat was to the Dallas Stars, how much does it really matter?

“This team’s always responded to these types of situations very well, and I expect the same tomorrow night,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said on Thursday. “We’ve had disappointments through various different runs, various times in these playoffs, and responded really, really well, and I expect us to do that again.”

The Oilers have grown accustomed dropping Game 1s in recent history and, as McDavid suggests, they also have a solid track record of rebounding.

Wednesday’s loss dropped the Oilers’ record to 4-12 in Game 1s in the McDavid-Leon Draisaitl era. They went on to win six of the previous 11 such series, a 54.5 percent winning percentage. That’s not exactly overwhelming, but it’s considerably better than the 31.9 percent rate in NHL history for teams that lose Game 1. And one of those Edmonton series losses was to Chicago in the 2020 play-in round, a best-of-five battle.

Experience helps the Oilers in this regard. This has become old hat. Only four times since 2016 have they fallen behind 2-0 in a series – in 2021 to Winnipeg, in 2022 to Colorado, in last year’s Stanley Cup Final vs. Florida and in this year’s first round against Los Angeles. The Oilers won one of those four series — just last month, when they won four consecutive games to eliminate the Kings.

The Oilers fully grasp the importance of winning Game 2 after losing a series opener, something they’ve done seven times in the McDavid era. Game 2 against the Stars is Friday night in Dallas.

“We’ve been really good in high-pressure situations, high-pressure games,” McDavid said. “Game 2 would be one of those. We’ve got to find a way to get a win here.

“We look forward to Game 2. It’s a great opportunity for our group.”

There’s another component to this: The Oilers have the most combined playoff experience of any team remaining.

Corey Perry leads the way. The 40-year-old has appeared in 227 postseason games and is the only member of the team with a Stanley Cup ring — in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. This is just his seventh series with the Oilers after signing with them last January, so he hasn’t been privy to most of their Game 1 failures.

He understands how this all works, though.

“You don’t want to go down 0-2. It’s that simple,” Perry said. “Guys, after (Wednesday) night, the way that it went down, with what happened, you respond.

“Everybody’s got that feeling that we let one slip away. We’re a little upset this morning. So, you use that. You go out (Friday) and use that to your advantage. You play harder and you do the little things a little harder and the big things are going to happen.”

There’s a lot for the Oilers to take from Wednesday’s performance, despite the third-period collapse.

They’ve been an outstanding at five-on-five team in the playoffs, outscoring opponents 31-23. Included in that is a 2-2 saw-off against the Stars in Game 1. The Oilers dominated at even strength over the first two periods, much like when they were at their best against the Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights.

They like their chances to win this series if they keep playing like that.

“I don’t think they were going to change our game plan,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I don’t think we need to alter things a lot.”

“We’re a confident group, even though we’re down one (game) here,” winger Connor Brown said.

The Oilers feel they’re in good spot, but there’s one key area to address. The penalty kill allowed three goals in a span of 5 minutes, 26 seconds, in the third period. That stretch flipped a two-goal advantage to a one-goal deficit just 5:58 into the final frame.

The penalty kill wasn’t anywhere close to good enough for large stretches of the regular season, and it has hurt them at times in the playoffs – including in Game 1.

“We got to find a way to get a kill,” McDavid said. “Giving up three is obviously not good enough.”

The Oilers dropped the first two games to the Kings in part because they allowed five power-play goals on 10 opportunities. They improved over the next nine games to kill off 17 of the last 23 opponents’ chances heading into the Western Conference final. Wednesday’s third-period effort just won’t cut it. The Stars went 3-for-4 with the man advantage.

“It’s a difficult thing. It’s an important thing,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “It clearly cost us the game.”

Overall, the Oilers have a 62.2 percent success rate on the penalty kill in this postseason. They’ve surrendered 14 power-play goals, whereas the other three remaining teams have given up a combined total of 16.

The Oilers’ penalty-killing was vital to their run to Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers allowed just four goals while short-handed in 25 playoff games and boasted a 94.3 percent rate. They denied all 14 Dallas power plays in their six-game, third-round series win.

What a difference a year makes.

“We need to make changes early here and make sure we’re on our toes a little bit,” Brown said. “It’s wild how it can change, that it can be such a strength and then going to these lulls.”

There have been tons of personnel changes since then. Just three forwards who were regulars on the PK in the previous postseason played in Game 1: Nugent-Hopkins, Brown and Mattias Janmark. (Adam Henrique seldom had those duties last year.) It was mostly just Darnell Nurse on defense, although Brett Kulak and Philip Broberg were used in this regard in the Final.

Knoblauch said it’s unlikely the Oilers will make any alterations for Game 2. He added that PK mainstay Mattias Ekholm, still recovering from an injury, won’t make his 2025 playoff debut on Friday, either.

Knoblauch believes the penalty kill was a bit unlucky in Game 1 but said their details must be sharper.

“It needs to get figured out,” Brown said. “Any time you have a hole in your game, you’re looking at it. We’re not shying away from it. We’re not just pretending it’s going to get fixed without attention to detail and accountability.”

The PK was an area of emphasis for the Oilers entering the series, given that the Stars’ power play had scored 12 goals in 13 playoff games and had capitalized on 30.8 percent of its chances. The other emphasis was on rush defending, considering that’s another Stars strength. The Oilers surrendered two such goals in Game 1, both to Tyler Seguin.

The Oilers should be in good stead if they clean up those aspects. However, knocking off the Stars for a second straight spring won’t be easy, especially given the early hole they’re in. The Stars, in their third consecutive West final and having added Mikko Rantanen, are desperate to win and are primed to do so.

Then again, so are the Oilers, who are in win-now mode and are trying to avenge last year’s Stanley Cup Final loss. How they reply in Game 2 likely will go a long away toward determining whether they will get that chance.

“You don’t get this opportunity too many times,” Perry said. “This league is so good that you have to take that opportunity and run with it. You have to be urgent.”

(Photo of Connor McDavid and Jake Oettinger: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

2025-26 NFL MVP odds, race: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen tied atop oddsboard

nfl

Next

trending_flat

What I’m hearing about the Maple Leafs, Brad Treliving’s role and replacing Brendan Shanahan

Sports