3 reasons for Oilers fans to be optimistic after disappointing Game 1 loss
The day after a playoff loss, especially one like last night’s Edmonton Oilers collapse, can be some of the hardest days for a hockey fan.
After a week of anticipation and excitement for the next playoff round to start, talking hockey a day after Edmonton blew a 4-1 lead to lose 5-4 to the Vancouver Canucks may be the last thing Oilers fans want to do.
Yet, despite the disappointing result, there were a few positive takeaways from Game 1 that should help Oilers fans feel a bit more optimistic ahead of Friday night’s Game 2. Positives after a playoff loss are hard to come by, but they do exist.
Here are a few of them to help you get back into a positive mood.
Oilers’ special teams keep dominating
If there was one positive aspect of the Oilers’ game last night, it was their play on the power play and penalty kill.
Edmonton opened the scoring early in the first period with Zach Hyman continuing his scoring ways and potting a PP goal on the team’s only man-advantage chance of the night. The Oilers now have 10 PP goals throughout the playoffs, and they will most likely get more than one opportunity in Game 2 to add to that total.
WHO ELSE BUT HIM?! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/18S14sFkdf
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2024
The team’s perfect penalty kill also kept up last night as they killed off all three Canucks powerplays to improve to a sparkling 15/15 while down a man. Edmonton is the only team left in the postseason with a perfect PK.
Winning the special teams battle will be important in this series, and it looks like the Oilers have the early edge.
Silovs looks beatable
Goaltending was not on Edmonton’s side in the third period, with Stuart Skinner giving up a few ugly goals, but Arturs Silovs didn’t look much better at the other end of the ice.
The rookie Canucks goaltender got torched for two goals in the first period and then let in two more very soft goals in the second period off the sticks of Cody Ceci and Zach Hyman. Those goals were two of the eight shots he faced in the final 40 minutes of the game.
THAT'S TWO FOR HYMAN! 🥵 pic.twitter.com/vzRploZfhU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2024
Edmonton didn’t test him a whole lot but still found a way to sneak four goals past Silovs. That should be something that they take away from Game 1 and something they should make a point of doing more often. It doesn’t appear that Silovs will be the reason the Oilers can’t score in this series, so make a concerted effort to get as many good looks on the net as they can.
Skinner’s performance in Game 1 was all over the map, but the sophomore goaltender has shown an ability to bounce back from these types of games.
Oilers have been here before
Losing Game 1 of a series is never the preferred option, and younger teams are likely to get more in their head about dropping a game like this, but the Oilers have been here before.
The team has lost each of its last two Game 1s of the second round to the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. The Flames’ loss was an embarrassing 9-6 drubbing that spurred the Oilers to four straight victories. The Oilers’ loss to Vegas was a 6-4 score, and they very nearly won that series before losing in six games.
In both of those games, the Oilers were vastly outplayed and lost by larger margins than they did last night. Edmonton didn’t play well at all last night, but they almost won despite that.
Knowing how the team has responded in the past, there is a good chance they play a whole lot better than how they did last night.
Playoff hockey is stressful, and losing a game can sometimes feel like the end of the world for fans. Rest assured, a seven-game series is not decided by the team that draws first blood. It’s a battle that can see momentum shift at the drop of a puck.
The Oilers will look to get their first jab in when Game 2 goes tomorrow night.
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