"We have the guys": Oilers ready to settle the score, Draisaitl or not
It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers need to put in a better effort if they hope to tie up their series against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
After blowing a three-goal lead to lose Game 1, the Oilers got right back out onto the ice this morning for practice, where head coach Kris Knoblauch showed off some new-look lines.
It’s familiar territory for the club and Zach Hyman told media after that the team is embracing the adversity.
“We’ve been in this position multiple times since I’ve been here,” Hyman said. “I like this group when we’re faced with adversity. I think we’re a group that responds, and now the job is to go and get one.
“We have an opportunity tomorrow.”
The team might have to do it without two of its top-six forwards. Knoblauch confirmed that Leon Draisaitl and Adam Henrique are labelled as “day-to-day” with injuries. A decision on whether they will be in the lineup is expected to be made tomorrow.
It’ll be a tough challenge for the Oilers, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins thinks the team can handle it.
“We have the guys in this room to get the job done, we believe in that,” he told reporters after practice. “Whoever has to step into a different role, I think everybody can do that.”
"We didn’t get the job done but we know there’s another level to get to."
Nugent-Hopkins reflects on Game 1 vs. Vancouver.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/MA4p6vYFgj
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 9, 2024
Hyman echoed this sentiment and added that playing through injuries is just a part of playoffs.
“You see it all the time with any team that goes on a run and wins,” Hyman said of dealing with injuries. “I think we have great depth. I think we have guys who can come into the lineup and do a job, so if guys were not to play, we have other guys who are ready.”
When it comes to how the team played in Game 1 and the lack of shots in the final 40 minutes, Knoblauch says his team wasn’t focused on executing the finer details of their game.
“I saw a team that was a little rusty,” The rookie head coach said after practice. “We need to step it up, and we also haven’t played for a while, and we need to find our game, and we got to do it quickly.
“We know, to beat this team, we need to be better.”
"We know that to beat this team we need to be better."
Coach Knoblauch provides injury updates & comments on what needs to improve in preparation for the next game vs. the Canucks.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/1lKEFrpDT0
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 9, 2024
The Oilers have lost Game 1 in each of their last two second-round series in 2022 and 2023. Each time they were able to come back and take Game 2 on the road. We’ll see if they can make it three straight when Game 2 gets going tomorrow night.