Late rallies are nothing new for the Edmonton Oilers.
Not every game has a fairy tale ending, though, where the team overcomes a multi-goal deficit to celebrate a win.
After falling behind 4-0 to the L.A. Kings on Monday, the Oilers pushed back to tie the score at 5-5 with less than 90 seconds to go in regulation.
The comeback storyline was scuttled by L.A.’s Phillip Danault, who scored with 41.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Kings a 6-5 victory in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
“Now, every single shift, every play matters. Even when you’re down and something happens, it all matters, because you push right to the end,” said Oilers centre Adam Henrique.
“We showed that, coming back, sticking with it and tying it up late. So we gave ourselves a chance.
“We’re a resilient group.”
Playoff hockey returns to Edmonton
Even with his Oilers down 4-1 at the second intermission, head coach Kris Knoblauch believed his group could mount an unlikely comeback.
“I saw it many times last year. They never give up. They’re resilient. They stay composed and they focused on what needs to be done,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of adversity over the last two playoffs and guys stick with it.
“They’re a mature group, they can handle a lot of adversity, they’ve seen a lot. And they don’t get too rattled when things aren’t going well. And the first 40 minutes, things hadn’t gone very well for us.”
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid led the charge with a goal and three assists, and factored in on all three of the tallies the Oilers registered across a 10-minute, 49-second span in the third period to tie the score.
The superstar centre slipped a puck under diving Kings defenceman Joel Edmundson, getting it across the crease to Corey Perry, who fired a shot in to cut L.A.’s lead to 5-3 at the 7:43 mark.
Edmonton’s penalty kill was tested just over a minute later when defenceman Jake Walman was booked on a delay-of-game penalty for putting the puck over the glass. Knoblauch opted to challenge the call, saying the puck ticked off the glass, but an extended video review determined the call on the ice would stand.
The Oilers killed off two full minutes of 5-on-3 hockey, a moment that Knoblauch said gave his team a push.
“After that, it carried a lot of momentum for us,” he said. “And Connor [McDavid] and Leon [Draisaitl] made some really good plays to get us back in that game.”
Goalie Stuart Skinner pulled in favour of an extra attack and, with just over two minutes left in the final frame, McDavid slipped a pass to Zach Hyman at the top of the crease and the winger popped it in to make it 5-4.
McDavid darted down the boards 36 seconds later and blasted a shot in past Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper to level the score.
“We don’t quit. We believe in ourselves,” Hyman said. “We have some really, really talented players who can will us back in the game. And they obviously did that.”
It was a wild, unexpected finish in a series that has become a somewhat routine way for both teams to start the post-season. This is the fourth year in a row that the Oilers and Kings have faced off in the first round.
Each post-season has its own quirks and big swings happen, Hyman said.
“Sometimes games aren’t scripted like you think they’re going to go and you have to find a way to win,” he said.
“And obviously we fell short today, which sucks. Nobody’s happy about it. We have a history of bouncing back, and I’m sure we’ll play a lot better in Game 2.”
Game 2 of the series is Wednesday in L.A. before the series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
