What Edmonton Oilers players said after Game 2 blowout loss in L.A.
The Edmonton Oilers are not in a good spot right now.
A 6-2 Game 2 loss to the LA Kings has put the Oilers in a fragile position heading back to the Alberta capital with a 2-0 series deficit. It’s the first time in the last four seasons that Edmonton has allowed the Kings to gain a multi-game lead, and they are now in danger of going down 3-0 on home ice.
The offence has been completely stifled, but the real problem has been in the defensive zone. Edmonton has been bleeding grade-A chances against that Stuart Skinner hasn’t been able to stop.
It’s not a position that the 2024 Western Conference Champions want to be in, but it’s one they will have to find a way out of.
Darnell Nurse gave a blunt answer on how the team is feeling heading into Game 3.
“We’re pissed off, obviously right now going down two, as we should be,” Nurse told reporters after the game. “We haven’t played to the standard or level we’re capable of playing at to a man, to our group.
“It’s a pissed off group and we gotta go home and take care of business on home ice.”
"We haven't played to the standard or level that we're capable of playing. It's a pissed-off group & we gotta go home & take care of business on home ice."
Darnell Nurse on the #Oilers falling behind 2-0 in their series vs. the Kings.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/mKXzOT9vDP
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 24, 2025
The Oilers didn’t allow the Kings to score a single power-play goal in last year’s first-round series. This time around, L.A. has pumped the Oilers for five PP goals in two games and is currently clicking at a 50 per cent success rate.
Edmonton has dominated the special teams battle in each of the last three playoff series against the Kings, but that script has flipped in a big way.
“It’s just the details to our game, whether it’s sticks finding lanes, we haven’t been good enough on the kill,” Nurse said. “Each of us knows individually, starting with myself, we’ve got to be better on it.”
In the blue paint, Skinner has been far from acceptable with 11 goals against so far this series. He was pulled in favour of backup Calvin Pickard late in the game and had the hostile L.A. crowd chanting “We want Skinner” while he sat on the Oilers’ bench.
Leon Draisaitl says this push from the Kings was expected and that the Oilers just need to play better.
“We got a hunger to win as well, but we gotta ramp it up, we gotta dig in, we gotta start playing here,” Draisaitl said.
“It hasn’t been good enough, and there’s hunger on their side, you can sense that, it’s not anything we’re not able to match, we just have to find it and find it quick.”
"We just have to be better. We gotta dig in & be better. This group has a lot of character in here. We'll regroup, let this one go & go back home trying to bring our best game."
Leon Draisaitl on the #Oilers heading home down 2-0.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/vdbjIKe0p9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 24, 2025
The bad news is that the Kings are now two wins away from eliminating the Oilers. The good news is that Edmonton has been able to overcome worse deficits before.
Is another big Oilers comeback waiting in the wings? We’ll have to wait for Friday night at Rogers Place to find out.