For Leon Draisaitl, the answer is easy. The Edmonton Oilers simply need to find another gear.
The Los Angeles Kings thumped the Oilers 6-2 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series.
The result smarts but Draisaitl said Edmonton’s locker room has what it takes to rally from the deficit.
“We just have to be better. We have to dig in and be better,” the star centre said Wednesday night.
“This group has a lot of character in here. So we’ll regroup, let this one go and go back home and try to bring our best game.”
The Oilers know what it takes to come back in a playoff series.
Last year, Edmonton fell behind 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in the final round. The team staved off elimination, winning the next three games before ultimately falling in a gritty Game 7.
“I’ve seen the majority of this team face difficult situations. A lot more difficult than it is right now,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch.
“There’s absolutely no quit with this group. It’s not an ideal situation to be in, being down two games, but certainly no panic. Especially with what I’ve seen from this group or the majority of this group.”
Penalties prove too costly for Oilers in Game 2
Struggling special teams cost Edmonton dearly across the first two games of the series.
The Kings are five for 10 on the power play, while the Oilers are zero for five.
“They’re a good team. They’re playing well,” said Edmonton defenceman Brett Kulak.
“But we’ve shown signs that we can be the better team, for sure. And we believe that in the room. So that’s what we’re looking to do.”
L.A. outshot the visitors 51-61 across the first two games of the series, but Knoblauch said it’s the way the kind of chances the Kings are getting that causes him concern.
The scoring opportunities, he said, come off Edmonton’s mistakes like losing track of an opponent in the slot.
“I don’t necessarily see L.A. making plays to beat us. I see just mistakes gift wrapping opportunities,” he said.
“That’s different. If they make a heck of a play and they’re able to score goals, you tip your hat and say ‘There’s not much we can do.’ But … I think it’s been mostly gaffes that have cost us.”
Knoblauch pulled starting goalie Stuart Skinner midway through the third period Wednesday after he gave up five goals on 28 shots, replacing him with Calvin Pickard, who stopped two of three shots in relief.
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The coach said he wanted to give Skinner a rest and see if another goalie would spark his team.
Every Oilers blue liner needs to step up and be better in front of whoever starts in net when Game 3 goes in Edmonton on Friday, said veteran defenceman Darnell Nurse.
“No team in this league can give up the amount of grade As and high-danger chances that I think we’ve been giving up,” he said.
“We’ve been hanging our goalie out to dry on quite a few occasions. [Skinner has] actually made some huge stops for us, and in a timely manner, too. So we’ve got to be better all around.”
The Oilers came into the playoffs having ousted the Kings from the first round of the playoffs three years in a row. With Wednesday’s win, L.A. took a 2-0 lead in the series for the first time.
Asked after the game whether the Kings are hungrier than the Oilers, Draisaitl was blunt.
“We’ve got a hunger to win as well but we’ve got to ramp it up, we’ve got to dig in,” he said. “We’ve got to start playing here. Obviously, it hasn’t been good enough.
“There is hunger on their side, of course, you can sense that. But it isn’t anything we’re not able to match. We just have to find it. And find it quick, of course.”
