It\u2019s always darkest in Edmonton before Game 3.<\/p>\n
This is where the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> usually are two games into a playoff series \u2014 looking somewhat vulnerable, a small measure of doubt creeping in, left to explain why they seem a little bit off at such an important time of the year.<\/p>\n One game away from the sky falling down on them like frogs dropping from the heavens in a plague.<\/p>\n Last year they gave up 12 goals in the first two games and fell behind 2-0 to the LA Kings, then outscored them 20-12 to win the series in six. They gave up six goals in losing Game 1 to the Dallas Stars, then outscored them 19-5 to win the series in five.<\/p>\n A year earlier, they split with the Kings on home ice, split with the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>, split with the Dallas Stars and made it to the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n So going 1-1 with the upstart Anaheim Ducks, while it\u2019s not what anyone was expecting, isn\u2019t anything to worry about.<\/p>\n Is it?<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been in this situation a lot, 1-1 going on the road,\u201d Oilers captain Connor McDavid<\/a> reasoned after a somewhat surprising 6-4 Game 2 defeat at Rogers Place. \u201cWe\u2019re comfortable on the road, we like playing on the road. Obviously, we\u2019d like a better outcome and a better product, but we\u2019re comfortable going on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n Good, because Anaheim\u2019s 24 wins at the Honda Center are third-most in the Western Conference and if this young group of speedsters had any doubts about its ability to hang with the more experienced Oilers, they are gone now after two very impressive showings on the road.<\/p>\n Like Utah against Vegas or Montreal against Tampa Bay, Anaheim catching Edmonton flat-footed is another example of the NHL\u2019s next wave of talent making itself heard.<\/p>\n Fans in Edmonton can hear it loud and clear because Anaheim is the more dynamic and resilient team so far. They took leads into the third period of both games, they scored nine goals, they outscored Edmonton 4-0 on special teams and they don\u2019t seem the least bit intimidated by Edmonton\u2019s star power.<\/p>\n And now they\u2019re heading home to see if they can deepen the cracks they\u2019ve hacked into Edmonton\u2019s armour.<\/p>\n What was supposed to be the easiest opponent of the first round is turning into a serious problem. Pressure on the forecheck is forcing Edmonton into extended time in the defensive zone and the eventual mistakes that always come with that. Pressure on McDavid held the captain pointless for two games. Pressure on special teams has Anaheim\u2019s penalty kill outscoring Edmonton\u2019s power play 1-0 through six chances.<\/p>\n If there is any solace to be found in where the Oilers sit right now it\u2019s that two of the biggest issues in the first two games are two of the things you probably have to worry about the least. If you\u2019re betting against McDavid and the Oilers power play, bring a lot of money because you\u2019re going to need. It. They are going to respond, it\u2019s a virtual certainty.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople forget Leon is just back, (Hyman) is just back,\u201d said McDavid. \u201cAs good as the power play is, it\u2019s still a work in progress. We haven\u2019t ran our normal routes and had our normal looks for some time. It\u2019s not just a light switch, so we\u2019re working at it obviously. And it will be a part of this series.\u201d<\/p>\n It has to. Let\u2019s not forget, during the regular season the Oilers were just slightly better than a middle of the pack team in five-on-five offence (three way tie for 11th).<\/p>\n But this isn\u2019t about potting a couple more goals a night because getting into 6-5 shutouts with Anaheim is not a smart play here. High-event, non-contact hockey with plenty of mood swings and last goal wins is exactly what the Ducks want. It gives them a better chance than trying to win 2-1.<\/p>\n With Adam Henrique not making the trip, Jason Dickson possibly out for Game 3 and McDavid possibly on the limp, Edmonton has to simplify its game, turn up the heat physically and bring some anger and emotion into the tamest series of the first round. Dumping and chasing isn\u2019t low-brow hockey, it\u2019s a winning strategy every year for a reason.<\/p>\n You assume they\u2019ll figure that out sometime before Game 3, but you never know with this year\u2019s Oilers. If this was a 105-point team, you\u2019d be more relaxed, thinking it was just an off night.<\/p>\n But what we saw in Game 2, and in the second period of Game 1,\u00a0 has been the story of this team since October \u2014 inconsistent from game to game, from period to period.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s carried over into Round 1.<\/p>\n If they don\u2019t sort this out there might not be a Round 2.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to string some good games together before they dig themselves a hole they can\u2019t get out of.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously,\u201d said McDavid. \u201cIt\u2019s the playoffs and we\u2019ve got to start going.\u201d<\/p>\n E-mail:\u00a0rtychkowski@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n Bookmark our website and support our journalism:\u00a0Don\u2019t miss the news you need to know \u2014 add\u00a0EdmontonJournal.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0EdmontonSun.com<\/a>\u00a0to your bookmarks and\u00a0sign up for our newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites.\u00a0The Edmonton Journal<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0The Edmonton Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always darkest in Edmonton before Game 3. This is where the Edmonton Oilers usually are two games…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[651,1929,53,461,2124,1772,52,263,8811,8810,50,7153,6020,1239,462],"class_list":{"0":"post-17082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton","8":"tag-adam-henrique","9":"tag-anaheim-ducks","10":"tag-connor-ingram","11":"tag-connor-mcdavid","12":"tag-dallas-stars","13":"tag-david-bloom","14":"tag-edmonton","15":"tag-edmonton-oilers","16":"tag-la-kings","17":"tag-losing-game","18":"tag-montreal","19":"tag-rogers-place","20":"tag-tim-washe","21":"tag-vancouver-canucks","22":"tag-zach-hyman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}