More of the front 40 and less of the back 20 was the Edmonton Oilers’ theme Thursday.
The Oilers head into Friday’s Game 2 of the NHL’s Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars wanting to replicate the first two periods of the opener when they were up 3-1, and bin the last period when the Stars scored five unanswered goals for the 6-3 win.
“Really good for 40 and really bad for 20,” was Edmonton captain Connor McDavid’s assessment Thursday.
“We’ve been really good in high-pressure situations, high-pressure games. Game 2 would be one of those where we’ve got to find a way to get a win here. A lot of positives come out of Game 1. Didn’t find a way to get a win. I don’t think we need to change a whole lot.”
One of the questions ahead of the best-of-seven conference final was whether the Dallas Stars score enough goals in a game against high-production Edmonton.
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The answer in Game 1 was yes, particularly if Edmonton gives the Stars three consecutive power-play chances in a span of less than seven minutes.
The Oilers are 3-4 in series openers in their second season under head coach Kris Knoblauch.
While time is still on Edmonton’s side after dropping Wednesday’s opener “you don’t want to go down 0-2,” said forward Corey Perry.
“Everybody’s got that feeling of ‘we let one slip away’ and you’re a little upset this morning,” Perry said. “You go out tomorrow and use that to your advantage. You play harder, you do the little things a little harder, and the bigger things are going to happen.
“That second game’s important. You start on the road, you’re hoping for a split.”
While Edmonton’s top shutdown defenceman Mattias Ekholm began skating with his teammates this week, Knoblauch said “he’s not ready” to play Friday. Ekholm has yet to appear in the playoffs because of an undisclosed injury.
The Oilers had the puck on their sticks for 40 minutes Wednesday and was the better team at even-strength.
The Oilers were able to get to Stars’ goalie Jake Oettinger early with three first-half goals and scored their first power-play goal on the road this post-season.
Leon Draisaitl compensated for his turnover that Tyler Seguin converted into a first-period breakaway goal with a goal and two assists.
McDavid’s speed was too hot for the Stars to handle as he generated high-danger chances for himself and assisted on two goals over two periods.
That work was undone when stick infractions by Brett Kulak, Perry and Evander Kane in quick succession and an ineffectual penalty kill handed momentum to the hosts.
“It clearly cost us the game,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is one of Edmonton’s penalty killers.
“One thing about our kill is we’re a fast-paced kill, we don’t give a whole lot of time to other power plays and I don’t really feel like that was the issue last night.
“They took advantage of three quick plays that happened. But it’s something that is going to make an impact, is being quick, limiting time. When you’ve got good players feeling the puck, they want time and space and we try to take that away from them.”
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The penalty kill’s struggle contrasted starkly with last year’s edition.
Edmonton reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final on the strength of a 95 per cent success rate while holding the Stars 0-for-14 in the 2024 conference final.
“Of course it needs to get figured out,” said Edmonton’s Connor Brown. “Any time you have a hole in your game, I mean you’re looking at it and we’re not trying to shy away from it. We’re not just pretending it’s going to get fixed without attention to detail and accountability. “
The second straight year the Oilers and Stars are squaring off in the Western Conference final pits two seasoned sides against each other for the right to play for the Cup.
Edmonton took the 2024 conference final from Dallas in six games, including a double overtime win in Game 1.
The Stars in their third straight conference final appearance and the Oilers in their third in four years possess multiple players wise in the ways of playoff ups and downs, but also men who feel it’s high time they went a step further and won a Stanley Cup.
“You don’t get this opportunity too many times and there’s reasons for that. This league is so good that you have to take that opportunity and run with it,” said 40-year-old Perry, who has had more chances than most with five Cup final appearances.
“There’s only four teams left. Everybody else is at home watching, so you can go out and do something special.”
