Losing the first game of a playoff series is nothing new for the Edmonton Oilers.
In 2020, they lost their opener to the Chicago Blackhawks. Last year, they fell in Game 1 to Winnipeg.
What the Oilers need to change is what happens next.
The Oilers did win game two against Chicago but ultimately fell 3-1 in the best-of-five series. The Jets swept the Oilers 4-0.
“A lot of us weren’t here two years ago. There’s a bunch of us who weren’t here last year. We’re not thinking about that,” said defenceman Tyson Barrie on Tuesday. “We just have to show a little resilience here and bounce back and get this one tomorrow.”
The Oilers were beaten in back-to-back games only three times after Jay Woodcroft took over as head coach on Feb. 10.
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“I think you draw on the whole season. You play 82 games. It kind of shapes your team and forms what type of a team you are,” said winger Zach Hyman. “It was obviously a unique season with the way that it went. It was a little bit of a roller coaster. We faced adversity through that season. I think you draw on those things.”
Monday night was the first Oilers playoff game with fans in attendance in five years. The fans were loud and fired up. It rubbed off on the Oilers, but the impact wasn’t all positive.
“We maybe did a few things that were out of character for us early, were maybe overexcited,” explained Barrie.
“I think you want your team to play with emotion. You want controlled emotions. We’d like to start the game better than we did. We gave up a chance 11 seconds in off a broken play, broken coverage. Then we found ourselves on the penalty kill immediately,” Woodcroft said.
“You want to make sure you’re playing toward your identity and your structure. That’s what has got us to this point.”
Game 2 between the Oilers and Kings is on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 6 p.m. Wednesday night. The game starts at 8 p.m.
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