“Break their will”: Kulak hopes Oilers can put away the Flames tonight
The Calgary Flames got the best of Brett Kulak and the Edmonton Oilers early in Games 1 and 2 of their Battle of Alberta playoff series.
The Oilers recovered to win in Game 2 and responded appropriately in Games 3 and 4, getting the jump on the Flames early to, eventually, cruise to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series between the two provincial rivals.
So, with the chance to bounce their most heated foe, on their home ice no less, Kulak knows what’s front and centre on the agenda.
“Our job is to come out early and just come hard,” Kulak said. “We’ve got to match their intensity and their speed and push them on their heels and break their will and go from there.”
No life.
Because, as Kulak points out, the Oilers are in a good spot, but not exactly in the most comfortable situation, either.
“It’s that tricky spot,” said Kulak, who was drafted by the Flames and spent four seasons in Calgary from 2014-2018. “You talk about the two-goal lead within a game…it’s a two-game lead in the series. It’s the same kind of thing. Teams can, if they get some success, can start rallying in on that.”
He’d know.
Kulak was with the Montreal Canadiens when they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs. The Canadiens eventually went on to play in the Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s not over and the job’s not done,” Kulak said. “We all know what needs to be done. We’ve got one more win to go and we’re looking to get it.”
The Flames, as a result, will play a desperate brand of hockey.
Right from the drop of the puck.
“We’ve been a good home team all year long,” Calgary forward Milan Lucic said Wednesday. “We’ve got to rely on our home game and how we’ve played at home and rely on our fans coming and cheering us on and having our backs, and going from there.”
If Kulak didn’t hear Lucic’s comments directly, he can probably more simply just expect what’s being said in the Flames locker room.
It’s win-or-go-home for the other side.
And though a 3-1 series lead might be cozy, a two-game edge isn’t comfortable.
“We’re going to see their best for sure. We understand that,” he said. “Teams are hard to close out. Teams don’t just quit and say ‘ah, that’s it, we’re done.’ It’s going to be right from the start of the game, all 60 minutes and maybe it might take more. I think that’s our focus.
“We’re going to come and we expect to bring our best, too.”
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