Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett had a laugh Friday morning when someone suggested that his team can’t expect to score pretty goals in the playoffs.
“No, no, I’ll take all the pretty goals we can get,” said Tippett. “I want pretty goals and ugly goals. We’ll take all we can get right now.”
The Oilers, beaten by Winnipeg 4-1 in Game 1 of series on Wednesday, are looking for more offence in Game 2 Friday night at Rogers Place. Even though the Oilers had 33 shots on goal in Game 1, they were left feeling that they need to get higher quality chances.
“They were kind of waiting for our mistakes. First and foremost, you don’t want to give them that mistake. You don’t want to turn pucks over. You still have to make plays and be creative and play your game,” said captain Connor McDavid, who was held without a point Wednesday. “Getting more pucks at the net I think will help as well.”
“It all depends. There are times mistakes are made, the puck bounces and you get chances. Teams tend to play a harder, more disciplined style. They’re not giving anything away,” explained Tippett.
Tippett said the Oilers will go with the same lineup as Wednesday, though he didn’t commit to using the same line combinations.
The Oilers and Jets are on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5 p.m. The game begins at 7 p.m.