Edmonton Oilers Playoff Thoughts: Round 3, Game 2

The Edmonton Oilers, for a team that didn’t play any games for exactly one week, looked really good in the first and second periods of Game 1. There were no signs of rust whatsoever. They looked like they would take a 1-0 series lead in Round 3, just like they did last year. If only hockey games were 40 minutes long, they aren’t. Stuart Skinner wasn’t going to keep posting shutouts forever, but we went back to seeing the Games 1-3 version of Stu. I can’t wait until we see the Games 4-7 version, just two games left. My issue with that third period collapse is that it may’ve resurrected the narrative that got on Connor McDavid’s nerves when he was asked about being able to defend. Collapses will happen from time to time, that doesn’t mean we like it. I mentioned in my Game 1 preview how Mikko Rantanen won Dallas the third period of Game 7 against Colorado. The Stars were down a pair of goals after two periods of that game as well. So, just like Edmonton, they won’t let adversity scare them. That being said, Kris Knoblauch should’ve called a timeout somewhere between the 3-2 goal and the 3-3 goal. Just like Game 7 against the Canucks last year, if a period/game starts getting out of hand, give the boys a 30 seconds breather to refocus.

Oilers fans, relax. We’ve seen this movie before, too many reruns as a matter of fact. I went to bed disappointed over the collapse, then woke up the next morning not worried at all. We’ve seen them respond well to bad games all Playoffs long. We saw them do it in last year’s Playoffs, too. They’ve developed enough of a short-term memory to just move on from mistakes and not let it affect how the rest of a series will go. Remember going down 2-0 against LA? Remember Game 3 against Vegas? What happened after all of that? They’re 8-2 since the first example I listed. Even if they lose tonight, it takes four wins to advance. But tying a series is obviously a more preferred plan. Did you see the camera shot of McDrai glancing at each other in the third period? That means they’ll mean business again. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Special Teams: I’d completely forgotten just how good Edmonton’s penalty kill was last postseason before watching Game 1. Having too many new players might play a part in the sudden switch in quality. Three straight power plays for the opponents, and you let in all of them? Not good enough. Someone on Twitter posted a video showing another angle of the high-stick on Matt Duchene. He was high-sticked, he didn’t embellish, it was a penalty. The refs aren’t conspiring against our team; they just have to play better. Even if someone defends Skinner on that third period, your goalie has to be your best penalty killer; he wasn’t in those moments. Also worth noting, the lone PP goal for Edmonton was their only PP goal on the road in these Playoffs. Please go back to being PP merchants.

No Walls: I would’ve liked Skinner to stop the 1-1 goal in the first period, even though breakaways can be tough, just because those saves are nice to have. Although he bumped into a teammate on Dallas’s fourth goal, I still think he was a second and a half too long to be back on the middle or the other side of the net tracking the puck. The second and third Stars goals were screens. He wasn’t screened on the 5th goal against, but Tyler Seguin placed his body in the right spot to deflect a shot in front of the net. Stu admitted in his postgame presser that he should’ve tried harder looking to the side of bodies blocking him on Miro Heiskanen’s goal, and I applaud him for that. I would also applaud Edmonton if they don’t give opposing forwards too much free rein around the goal crease.

Careful Puck Movement: Leon Draisaitl made a great play to keep the puck onside before he scored the first goal of Game 1. Then he was pressured off the puck, leading to Seguin’s breakaway goal. I also thought it was a bad pass by John Klingberg to make while Draisaitl had two guys on him.