The unthinkable thing happened: the Oilers won the opening game of a series. Edmonton has won their last two first rounds after a Game 1 loss against the same team, so it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if they lost again. But it’s also nice to get the first lead and not worry about tying the series. The offense did not play nice against the Kings. Zach Hyman had his first career Playoff hat trick, and Connor McDavid had his first career five-point night in the Playoffs. There are two big moments I look back on with that game. The first was Stuart Skinner stopping Viktor Arvidsson on a breakaway shortly before Hyman made it 3-0. The second was the Oilers challenging a goal by Trevor Lewis and winning it. I might have been writing about a different game if those moments didn’t happen.
I thought Evander Kane played a pretty good game. He was as physical as you’d expect him to be, and he had a couple of good scoring chances. News was revealed that Kane has been playing with a sports hernia all season long. That explains how streaky his offensive production is. His season has not come short of criticism from Oilers fans. But how about giving him props for still putting up 24 goals, 44 total points, and 250 hits? I also find it odd that some people criticize Ken Holland for not putting him on LTIR. Aren’t we all angry at the Golden Knights for circumventing the salary cap? You want that loophole gone, but is it okay for our team to do the same thing? Is that not a problem? You can’t have it both ways.
So we’ve enjoyed taking a rare 1-0 lead. Let’s enjoy taking a rare 2-0 lead. The keys to the game are…
Game 2 Difference: There’s a lot to take out of some other Playoff teams this year. Toronto, Colorado, and Nashville played forgettable Game 1s, then responded with solid Game 2s. This will be L.A.’s perspective heading into our Game 2. Don’t expect every game to play out like Monday night.
Dumb Luck: Game 1 had no business being a 7-4 decision. Warren Foegele put it away with an empty net goal, but two fluky goals by Los Angeles with less than five minutes left made it closer than it actually was. Pierre-Luc Dubois gently shot the puck at Darnell Nurse’s skate when he was alone on a rush, and it went in the back of the net. Then Cody Ceci’s stick broke after a faceoff win at the blue line, and Trevor Moore scored off a gifted rush play. We can laugh at it now, and out of all people, it had to be Nurse and Ceci involved. Remember that a lot can happen and change in a 60-minute game.
Special Teams: Perhaps the powerplay merchants made a comeback in Game 1. Edmonton was 3/4 with the man advantage, while L.A. was 0/2. Maybe they won’t get eight minor penalties again but have a moment where you force them to take a penalty, then strike.
