History not with Oilers as they look to rally to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance
History isn’t exactly on the side of the Edmonton Oilers.Ā
Not at the moment, anyway.Ā
And with a critical Game 3 against the Colorado Avalanche coming in the Western Conference Final, the Oilers will need to find a way to buck a lengthy trend and become the first team to overcome a 2-0 series deficit to win a Conference Final since the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins.Ā
That’s right.Ā No team has overcome a 2-0 hole in a Conference Final, in 31 years. It’s only been done twice since 1965, according to the NHL.
There have been seven instances in NHL history of a team overcoming a 2-0 series deficit to win a Conference Finals/Semifinals.
The most-recent club to do so went on to capture the #StanleyCup that year. #NHLStats: https://t.co/hPlXNq7qQ5 pic.twitter.com/Q40jTfizhD
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 4, 2022
The silver lining, at least, is that the Penguins team went on to win the Stanley Cup.Ā
No pressure.Ā
“We built our game to the point where we’re standing with four teams left,” Oilers forward Zack Kassian told media Saturday morning. “We’re a confident group. You don’t get to this stage if you’re not a confident group.
“I know people can say it’s just another game, but our season is on the line. It’s important for us to not go down 0-3 against a good hockey team over there. I think these are things and moments that you embrace as a player. They’re fun. We all just have to be dialled in. We’re going to need everybody to be at their best tonight.”
They’ll have to be.
The Oilers are historically horrible when losing the first two games of a series. Edmonton is just 1-8 all-time, a .111 winning percentage when trailing a series 2-0. That includes a 1-6 record when starting such a series on the road, too.
The one time they did came in 2006, en route to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Oilers fell behind the San Jose Sharks 2-0 in the Conference Semifinals before rallying to four straight wins, jumpstarted by a triple-overtime victory in Game 3 that was ended by Shawn Horcoff.
They could use some of that magic again.Ā
Because Edmonton has never rallied in the four tries they’ve had when falling down 3-0 in a series. It makes Saturday’s soiree with the Avalanche all the more important. The Oilers are a much-improved 4-8 the 12 times they’ve trailed 2-1 in a series.Ā
“I think we’re a confident group,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “We’re back in Wild Rose Country in front of the best fans in the world in an energetic building that our players feed off that type of energy. We’re here to win a hockey game tonight.”