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Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates with teammates after a goal during the third period of Game One of the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images)

Oilers Playing With Fire Relying on Late-Game Comebacks

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated May 8, 2025 3:55 PM ET

The Edmonton Oilers are hard to get a read on, as all of their games in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been a mixed bag. The Oilers have struggled to start games on time this postseason, dropping the first two games in their Round 1 series versus the Los Angeles Kings. They stormed back with four-straight victories, but they didn’t come easy, as they trailed in all four of those games before clawing their way back to win it.

Game 1 of their second-round series versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday was more of the same, as the Oilers found themselves trailing 2-0 less than halfway into the first period. A Corey Perry goal early in the second got them back in the contest, before they exploded for three goals in the third period to walk away with a 4-2 win. On Tuesday, the Oilers became the first team in playoff history to record five-consecutive comeback wins, for better or worse.

Oilers Can’t Keep Winning Like This

Relying on late-game comebacks is a recipe for disaster in the postseason. The Oilers were able to do it versus a less-skilled Kings team, but the deeper they go into the playoffs, the tougher the competition.

The Golden Knights are a much better all-around team than the Kings. The Oilers were able to come back in Game 1, but against a roster that can shut an offence down, paired with a very good head coach in Bruce Cassidy who knows how to adjust, these types of late-game heroics will be harder to find.

Playoff games take a ton out of the players, and even more if a team is clawing its way back into a contest. If the Oilers continue to put forth these types of efforts, fatigue will become a factor and take its toll. The question, however, is whether they can fix it.

Though it’s gotten plenty of attention in these playoffs, battling back into games, or series for that matter, is nothing new for the Oilers. Battling back into games has become a common theme for this team in recent years, including in regular-season play. They’ve managed to make it work, but it comes an entirely different beast doing so time and time again in the playoffs.

Last year’s Stanley Cup Final versus the Florida Panthers was the perfect example, as they put themselves in a horrendous position trailing the series 3-0. Rather miraculously, they were able to climb all the way back to tie the series up, but didn’t have enough gas in the tank to pull out a win in Game 7. Had they put forth the same 60-minute efforts through the opening three games as they did later in the series, there is a very good chance they would have ended their lengthy Cup drought.

Oilers Need Better Starts

Playing a full 60 minutes is crucial in the playoffs. To ensure better starts, Edmonton needs to be better prepared for puck drop. That not only includes some big and timely saves early from Calvin Pickard, but also better defensive play in front of him. More discipline is also needed, and that should lead to an early goal, whether it be from one of their top stars or depth players.

This isn’t to diminish what the Oilers have accomplished. Despite many doubts surrounding them entering the playoffs, they have quickly proven that they are a serious Stanley Cup contender. They have several players back from injury who are contributing in big ways, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have continued their postseason dominance.

Yes, the Oilers are a very good team, capable of playing better than we have seen in the playoffs so far. We’ve seen glimpses of it, and it’s paid off, but they need to find a way to play at their best level from start to finish if they hope to return to the Stanley Cup Final again this year.