EDMONTON – They play seven games for a reason.
They have only one loss and you need to have four of those in a series to be sent home packing.
That being said, the Edmonton Oilers know that they have work to do. No one on the team was happy with how things turned out in their 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1.
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A new day, a new game.
The Oilers are going to need a new strategy to defeat the Kings in Game 2. There are two main areas of focus that the team needs to put their energy into in order to win a game and shift the momentum.
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EDMONTON – It takes a team to win.
The Oilers Need Faster Breakouts
During separate media availabilities on Tuesday, both head coach Kris Knoblauch and Connor McDavid spoke about hitting the neutral zone with speed. Luckily for the Oilers, there is a very easy way to achieve that.
If the Oilers can transition the puck out of their zone with speed, they should be able to navigate a clogged neutral zone. Part of that will have to be the defense moving the puck up the ice swiftly and precisely.
They will need to have a puck mover on every pairing to facilitate that. John Klingberg drawing in would be a massive help, as he could make that happen on a third pairing.
Brett Kulak, Jake Walman, and Evan Bouchard are all excellent movers of the puck. Darnell Nurse possesses that skill set as well. However, he is a better puck carrier than a passer, and the Oilers need more of that, too.
Oilers Must Be First Past The Post
The Oilers can’t be chasing the game, especially not when they play in the Kings barn. To beat this year’s rendition of the Kings, the Oilers need to score first.
Once they achieve that, they need to keep applying pressure to them. The Oilers can never let their foot off the gas. The players know this, the coaches know this, now they just have to execute.
The team has shaken off some rust with the first game of the series, now it’s time to kick things into high gear.
It’s do or die. It’s the playoffs.
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