Oilers game sheet: what to fix for game two

Hockey answers are the backbone of the sports media world.

Seldom will you listen to a post game interview or read an article as you sip your morning coffee, without identifying something as clever as:

“We gotta put pucks deep, play a 200 foot game, roll four lines, play our game,” or about 50 more cliches you’ll all internally cringe at while wishing that the star player would just say something real.

Wednesday night’s cliché though?

“We’re just going to have to put this one behind us and move on,” per Kris Knoblauch.

Here’s the thing about hockey answers though, the more you try to articulate what a team needs to do, the more you realize how spot on they are.

(But still, a joke or two wouldn’t hurt.)

And while Knoblauch’s post-game statement might have been one so easily forgotten, it described perfectly the necessary steps for Edmonton Oilers ahead of game two.

Don’t panic.

“This group’s always responded to these types of situations pretty well, and I’d expect the same (in game two),” according to Connor McDavid. “We’ve had disappointment through various times in these playoffs and have responded really well.”

“A lot of positives came out of Game one. We don’t need to change a whole lot. We get a kill or two, and that game’s maybe different.”

Ahh, the penalty kill. The hole so glaringly obvious in game one, we all forgot to look at the root cause or possible solutions beyond saying, “that sucked.”

The “hole,” as we’ll now refer to it as, was two hooking penalties, two for high sticking, and three for roughing that don’t count as the clock said 0:00 about 10 minutes after the Oilers could no longer dig themselves a win.

See the pattern yet?

“The more time you defend, the more time you’re in a position to take a penalty,” assessed Knoblauch. “When they push, you’re getting vulnerable to having to take a stick infraction or any infraction.

“The more we can possess the puck, the more we can spend in the offensive zone, and we’ll be less likely to spend time where we’ll take penalties. I hope we’re not taking penalties in the offensive zone.”

And in case you still don’t see the pattern, allow Corey Perry to explain it to you.

“There’s been a lot of stick penalties that’s been taken.”

It wasn’t roughing, or playing on the edge, or creating high danger chances, it was shutting them down before the Dallas Stars could classify their soon-to-be power play goal, as one at even strength.

“You still have to play on the edge,” continued Perry. “You still have to play hockey, you still have to do what the Oilers do.”

You still have to fix the penalty kill, you still have to aim for the series split, but you can’t go down 0-2 against the Stars.

They are not the Los Angeles Kings, and they are not as forgiving.

Breathe life into these forever conference finalists and to the Stanley Cup Finale they go.

“I think guys after (the other night), the way it went down, and the way it happened, you respond,” explained Perry. “Everyone’s got that feeling of we let that one slip away. You play harder, and you do the little things better. You start on the road and you’re hoping for the split.”

“Starting on the road, you want to come out with a split. Go home and take care of business. That’s always the goal.” added Adam Henrique.

It might be another cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason.

Edmonton Oilers expected lines

Jeff Skinner subbed in for Connor Brown who was absent during morning skate for “maintenance,” though Brown is expected to play.