With a Game 5 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, the Edmonton Oilers are on the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs.
Speaking with reporters after the final buzzer rang on the 3-2 defeat at Rogers Arena, Oilers captain Connor McDavid did not hold back in assessing what went wrong for his team.
“I thought they were the better team. They get a bounce at the end of the game, and that’s the way it goes,” said McDavid, who was held pointless, logging two shots on the night. “I thought we were real good in the first period, generating chances, generating power plays. I thought we didn’t do enough to capitalize.”
According to McDavid, the Oilers’ power play — one of the most effective special teams units in the league this season (26.3%) — failing to produce was indicative of the team’s inability to get the upper hand in Game 5.
“We couldn’t find a way to generate much, even on the power play,” he said.
With Edmonton failing to produce on any of their five power plays throughout the game, McDavid was not alone in his sentiment.
“It was definitely a night where we would like to have had one to help the team win,” teammate Zach Hyman said after the game. “We weren’t good enough, obviously, we didn’t generate as much as we usually do on the power play.”
With all that said, McDavid, who has 18 points in 10 postseason games this year, remains confident in his group’s ability to forge a comeback.
“We’re good at bouncing back,” he added. “We’ve always said that. We’ve always been confident in that.”
For him, the mission now is simple: “Try to win a hockey game.”
Game 6 at Rogers Place goes on Saturday night, with puck drop set for 6 pm MT.