EDMONTON — It’s a quote that can boomerang on you.
“We’re going to find out a lot about our team,” Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett predicted on the morning of a must-win Game 2. “How we play tonight; how we deal with going out in a must-win game. Let’s see how we react.”
By the time the night had passed, Connor McDavid had scored a hat trick, the penalty kill had rebounded with a perfect night, and the third line was celebrating a two-goal shift that put the game away. It was hard-fought yet decisive in Edmonton’s favour, a 6-3 win that evens this Stanley Cup Qualifying series at a game apiece.
What did the Oilers learn about themselves?
“We found out that we can respond when things don’t go the right way,” said James Neal. “There was no doubt in our dressing room, we knew what we were going to get out of all of our guys. The biggest message of the night is you put this one out of your mind (too). It’s another huge one in a couple of days for us.”
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Of course, when your captain and leader scores goals at 0:19 and 4:05 of the first period, it helps. But what gave Tippett a good night’s sleep Monday was the arrival of all the working parts that made Edmonton a very good team through 71 games of a shortened regular season.
• Goaltender Mikko Koskinen opened the night by stopping Jonathan Toews in close, and then Patrick Kane on a breakaway. They were the kind of saves you need in the playoffs and the difference between a team that gets their feet underneath them and one that is not afforded that chance.
• Depth in scoring. The third line of centre Jujhar Khaira, Neal and Alex Chiasson put this game away with a two-goal shift in the third period. The Leon Draisaitl line did not score a goal, the powerplay only had one, and Edmonton got to six Monday, a good sign for the Oilers.
• Andreas Athanasiou had his best game as an Oiler. His speed alongside Zack Kassian’s game on the fourth line looks like it can add some offence and possession time, as Tippett finds the right chemistry after four months away from the lab.
“Probably the best game we’ve seen him play,” Tippett agreed. “Wanted the puck all night and really brought something to the table for us.”
• Kris Russell and Adam Larsson each brought their playoff face to the rink, two players that are necessary to make a skilled team hard to play against. They’re not all going to be six- or even four-goal games. There are penalties to be killed, shots to be blocked, and opponents to set down on their rear ends. These are two guys who make Edmonton a tougher opponent.
When it was over, it was the Blackhawks lamenting their poor play, the way Edmonton had been for the past two days.
“We gave them too many chances,” Kane said. “They have a lot of offensive players who will capitalize. We’ll try to be better defensively. This is what’s fun about the playoffs, these highs and lows.”
These games are truly what playoff hockey is all about.
Watching McDavid come out of the chute with two early goals was breathtaking, the stuff legends are made of.
“Those first two goals both sent a really strong message to our team that he was here to play,” said Tippett. “But I like the way our whole team responded. We knew this was a critical game for us. I really liked the way the guys came out and played accordingly.”
The playoff journey is a long one, all teams hope. And along the way, you have moments like this one, where you face a test.
The teams that pass enough of the tests earn the right to play on, and they build success on a foundation of memories like the time they faced a must-win game, and conquered the pressure to win 6-3. You never know where the road ends. For some teams it won’t even start this August, if they go home prior to Round 1.
But maybe you’re still playing two or three rounds from now, and you can look back and say, “Remember how we rebounded against Chicago that night?’
“We learned that our team is a very determined group,” began Tippett. “Our whole group really played with a mindset that we weren’t going to lose tonight. You learn that your team cares. That they want to win.
“All year, there were games where we talked about setting new standards for our team. Considering it was a must-win situation in a short series, I liked the standard we set. Now, there are still things to clean up, but it’s certainly a step… that your team builds confidence from.”
It’s now a best-of-three.
Interesting? You bet.
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