Edmonton Oilers Playoff Thoughts: Round 1, Game 3

We need another camera shot of Leon Draisaitl yelling on the bench, and another viral video of Connor McDavid dropping angry F-bombs in the locker room.

Since the 2005 lockout, the Edmonton Oilers have only one series win after going down 2-0. That was in 2006 against the San Jose Sharks in the second round, and we all remember how the rest of those Playoffs turned out. Have the Oil looked below average? Clearly, it’s not debatable. Is the series over? No. The way they lost their first two games does hurt, especially Game 1. But when you don’t have home ice advantage, you need to acknowledge that your opponents had the best home record in the regular season. However, the LA Kings were 21st on the road, which isn’t the greatest. So if you’re going to make this a series again, we absolutely need to see tonight and Game 4 be wins. Just one win may not cut it, considering how good this Kings team is. There’s an old saying in hockey that you’re not really in trouble until you lose your first home game. To be honest, I’ve never fully bought into that. Unless, of course, you play Game 7 at home and lose. The last few postseasons have taught me to never predict anything or consider any likelihoods, no matter how a series is looking. Momentum shifts or gaffes can happen at any time when you’re least expecting it. You need to just have a short-term memory and focus on the next one. You have no other choice.

Since I mentioned 2006, what’s Dwayne Roloson doing these days? Does he miss playing in net? It is not a good time to be a Stuart Skinner supporter, let me tell you. Seeing Darcy Kuemper sport an .863 SV% in this series would be amazing for us if Stu wasn’t sporting an even worse .810 SV%. Just imagine how much of a bigger difference 3 or 4 more saves could’ve made. Oilers Twitter is set ablaze so much that I’m surprised the app hasn’t crashed yet. The first, second, and fifth goals against were savable. The third goal against was a fortunate bounce off the boards after a missed point shot. Stopping the fourth goal against would’ve bailed out a defensive zone mistake and been a confidence boost after the team in front attempted planning another comeback. A highlight that caught everyone’s eye was after Skinner caught the puck midair, and the “SKINNER” jeers inside Crypto.com Arena were back on, you could see him smiling and laughing through his goalie mask. Oilers fans are making a huge deal of this, I just think he was trying to not breakdown during a disastrous time in his career.

Going into tonight, if I’m Kris Knoblauch, Calvin Pickard should get the start. In my Game 81 preview, I brought up that if Edmonton lost home ice advantage, it may benefit Pickard, who was 13-5 on the road during the regular season. I know the coaching staff wanted to keep trust in their young #1, but it might’ve been wiser to give the goalie who has been better, not just in road games but overall, all season long, a shot at one of those first two games. That goalie switch halfway through the third period on Wednesday was pointless because it should’ve happened earlier in the game. The Oilers just tend to have an easier time in front of him as opposed to Skinner. See if Pickard makes that much of a difference tonight. If he does, you keep riding with him until he has an off night. The Kings fans in LA were rowdy. The Oil need to build off their own fan energy at Rogers Place. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Score First: We saw a miracle comeback wasted in Game 1, and then they tried to come back again in Game 2. I understand that the Oilers are obsessed with adversity, but there’s far less pressure in playing with a lead. Try not to just play from behind all the time.

Smarter Decisions: I dedicated two paragraphs in this article to goaltending, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting our defensemen off the hook. Darnell Nurse had a good regular season, but has gone back to being an Oilers meme so far in this series. He’s gone back to over-committing to blocking a shot, which then puts him out of position. Evan Bouchard is afraid to move a single inch when an opposing forward has the puck, and he’s still baking turnovers for the other team’s bench. Viktor Arvidsson isn’t a defenseman, but his giveaway leading to LA’s 4-2 goal made you forget he made it a 3-2 game a couple of minutes earlier. Leon Draisaitl threw a big hit, physicality is good. But it left Quinton Byfield alone in the slot because every other Oiler on the ice chose to do nothing. Watching this team without Mattias Ekholm makes you remember just how insane it was that the 2017 Penguins won it all entirely without Kris Letang.

Garbage Goals: So my first key was about taking leads. How do you do that? Go to the front of the net and wait for a deflection. The Oilers still lost Game 2 by four goals, but the ones scored by Draisaitl and Arvidsson are the types of goals you need to look for in the Playoffs. Evander Kane is back in the lineup. Now that he’s got at least the one game behind him. Let’s see him screen the goalie and be a net front presence. Not every goal you score has to be in a Sportsnet Top Plays highlight reel.