Edmonton Oilers ready for reset after 3rd-period collapse in Game 1

Donna Spencer · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 22, 2025 4:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

More of the beforehand 40 and little of the backmost 20 was the Edmonton Oilers' taxable Thursday.

The Oilers caput into Friday's Game 2 of the NHL's Western Conference last against the Dallas Stars wanting to replicate the archetypal 2 periods of the opener erstwhile they were up 3-1, and bin the past play erstwhile the Stars scored 5 unanswered goals for the 6-3 win.

"Really bully for 40 and truly atrocious for 20," was Edmonton skipper Connor McDavid's appraisal Thursday.

"We've been truly bully successful high-pressure situations, high-pressure games. Game 2 would beryllium 1 of those wherever we've got to find a mode to get a triumph here. A batch of positives travel retired of Game 1. Didn't find a mode to get a win. I don't deliberation we request to alteration a full lot."

One of the questions up of the best-of-seven league last was whether the Dallas Stars people capable goals successful a crippled against high-production Edmonton.

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The reply successful Game 1 was yes, peculiarly if Edmonton gives the Stars 3 consecutive power-play chances successful a span of little than 7 minutes.

The Oilers are 3-4 successful bid openers successful their 2nd play nether caput manager Kris Knoblauch.

While clip is inactive connected Edmonton's broadside aft dropping Wednesday's opener "you don't privation to spell down 0-2," said guardant Corey Perry.

"Everybody's got that feeling of 'we fto 1 gaffe away' and you're a small upset this morning," Perry said. "You spell retired time and usage that to your advantage. You play harder, you bash the small things a small harder, and the bigger things are going to happen.

"That 2nd game's important. You commencement connected the road, you're hoping for a split."

While Edmonton's apical shutdown defenceman Mattias Ekholm began skating with his teammates this week, Knoblauch said "he's not ready" to play Friday. Ekholm has yet to look successful the playoffs due to the fact that of an undisclosed injury.

The Oilers had the puck connected their sticks for 40 minutes Wednesday and was the amended squad astatine even-strength.

The Oilers were capable to get to Stars' goalie Jake Oettinger aboriginal with 3 first-half goals and scored their archetypal power-play extremity connected the roadworthy this post-season.

Leon Draisaitl compensated for his turnover that Tyler Seguin converted into a first-period breakaway extremity with a extremity and 2 assists.

McDavid's velocity was excessively blistery for the Stars to grip arsenic helium generated high-danger chances for himself and assisted connected 2 goals implicit 2 periods.

That enactment was undone erstwhile instrumentality infractions by Brett Kulak, Perry and Evander Kane successful speedy succession and an ineffectual punishment termination handed momentum to the hosts.

"It intelligibly outgo america the game," said Oilers guardant Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is 1 of Edmonton's punishment killers.

"One happening astir our termination is we're a fast-paced kill, we don't springiness a full batch of clip to different powerfulness plays and I don't truly consciousness similar that was the contented past night.

"They took vantage of 3 speedy plays that happened. But it's thing that is going to marque an impact, is being quick, limiting time. When you've got bully players feeling the puck, they privation clip and abstraction and we effort to instrumentality that distant from them."

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The punishment kill's conflict contrasted starkly with past year's edition.

Edmonton reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup last connected the spot of a 95 per cent occurrence complaint portion holding the Stars 0-for-14 successful the 2024 league final.

"Of people it needs to get figured out," said Edmonton's Connor Brown. "Any clip you person a spread successful your game, I mean you're looking astatine it and we're not trying to shy distant from it. We're not conscionable pretending it's going to get fixed without attraction to item and accountability. "

The 2nd consecutive twelvemonth the Oilers and Stars are squaring disconnected successful the Western Conference last pits 2 seasoned sides against each different for the close to play for the Cup.

Edmonton took the 2024 league last from Dallas successful six games, including a treble overtime triumph successful Game 1.

The Stars successful their 3rd consecutive league last quality and the Oilers successful their 3rd successful 4 years person aggregate players omniscient successful the ways of playoff ups and downs, but besides men who consciousness it's precocious clip they went a measurement further and won a Stanley Cup.

"You don't get this accidental excessively galore times and there's reasons for that. This league is truthful bully that you person to instrumentality that accidental and tally with it," said 40-year-old Perry, who has had much chances than astir with 5 Cup last appearances.

"There's lone 4 teams left. Everybody other is astatine location watching, truthful you tin spell retired and bash thing special."