After a wild series opener, the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers return for what should be a wild Game 2. Here are the keys to winning on Thursday.
Dang.
You had no excuse to miss Game 1, and you have no excuse to miss Game 2. If Tuesday was any indication, we're in for a wild series between two heavyweights filled with top talent chasing a spot in the Stanley Cup final.
The Avalanche took Game 1 8-6, a game that, by all accounts, was as bonkers of a match as you get in the post-season -- only to be beaten by Edmonton's 9-6 loss to Calgary in the second round. If you're a neutral fan, Game 1 was a dream. If you're invested in either team, uh, sorry.
Game 2 returns to Ball Arena in Colorado, with the Avs looking to take an important 2-0 series lead to Alberta. The Oilers are hoping to split the series in half and return home with momentum on their side. Either way, this should be one heck of a matchup.
Here's a look at the keys to winning Game 2:
Get back to the basics
If there's one thing the Edmonton Oilers are good at, it's scoring at will. Even in a loss, they managed six goals and played a strong offensive game.
But, man, defensive coverage was a mess at points, and Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen looked lost. The Oilers need
The Oilers have done a good job bouncing back after losses in the playoffs, losing twice in a row just once in the 12 games prior to Game 1. The Oilers have lost the first game of every series, but have won the second game each time. So if you believe in history, Game 2 is there's.
But to do that, the Oilers need to hunker down in their own zone. That's because while the Oilers have scored an impressive 4.46 goals-for per game, the Avalanche sits first at 4.64 during the post-season. In the regular season, the Avs finished fourth at 3.76 while the Oilers were seventh at 3.48. Even if you have McDavid and Draisaitl, you're playing against a team with MacKinnon, Makar and Kadri. Don't invite them to embarrass you.
The fact that the Oilers have bounced back after a crazy opening game multiple times already is a great thing, but the Avalanche won't give you much to work with, especially if they lock things down better themselves, too.
This applies to the Avalanche, too, because while they own Game 1, they allowed six goals and lost Darcy Kuemper to injury. As we await an update on his health situation, the Avalanche needs its usually rock-solid blueline to do what they do best and make life miserable for Edmonton's top stars.
The Oilers have the top line in the playoffs. The Avalanche have one of the best bluelines. If anyone can contain McDavid and Co., it's Colorado.
The difference tonight? Goaltending
As of 10:30 AM ET, we still don't know what's up with Darcy Kuemper and whether he'll start Game 2. He was pulled before the halfway point of Game 1 with what has been reported as possible concussion symptoms. Kuemper missed the end of the first round against Nashville after taking a stick to the face and video footage shown during Hockey Night in Canada's intermission broadcast seemed to show Kuemper facing a couple of shots up high on Tuesday.
So, this potentially leaves the crease tonight -- and perhaps longer -- to Pavel Francouz, who does have a history of some pretty decent performances when called upon to be the starter. At the other end, it's expected that Mike Smith will return after a shaky start to Game 1. Thankfully for the Oilers, Smith has managed to bounce-back big after getting shelled during the playoffs, and it seems like whenever the odds are against him, that's when he finds a way to play his best hockey.
Based on what we saw in Game 1, and what both teams are capable of offensively, the team with the best goaltending is going to win this series. The Avalanche haven't had tough goaltending to deal with, while the Oilers made a Vezina Trophy candidate look like a third-stringer in the series against Calgary.