Edmonton Oilers have an incredible run of success after they trail in playoff series
The Edmonton Oilers are trailing the Western Conference Final 1-0, but this series versus the Dallas Stars is far from over.
The Oilers let Game 1 slip away on Wednesday night, as they allowed five unanswered goals from the Stars in the third period to fall by a 6-3 final. While it’s far from an ideal situation, this isn’t unusual territory for this team.
The Oilers have won nine series dating back to 2017. At one point, they trailed in seven of those series, going to show just how resilient of a bunch this group is. Granted, the roster has changed drastically over the years, but their dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, have been there through it all.
The first round of this year’s playoffs saw the Oilers erase a 2-0 series deficit to defeat the LA Kings in six. They also trailed the Vancouver Canucks in the second round a year ago before winning the series in seven games, and trailed these very same Dallas Stars 2-1 before going on to win in six.
Of course, this Stars team is no slouch. This marks their third straight Western Conference Final, and the trade deadline addition of Mikko Rantanen makes them an even more dangerous group than years past. That makes it imperative for the Oilers to get a split on the road this evening.
In order to do so, their special teams will need to be significantly better. They were the better five-on-five team in Game 1, but allowed three power play goals, dropping their penalty kill percentage down to an ugly 62.2 per cent in the postseason.
They will also need some timely saves from Stuart Skinner, who, after back-to-back shutouts versus the Vegas Golden Knights, allowed five goals on 27 shots in Game 1 versus the Stars.
For whatever reason, this Oilers team seems to start off slow in series, but their track record proves that nobody should be counting them out, even against a team as elite as the Stars.
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