edmonton oilers Tired of hearing about it. They don’t want to ask anything more about this.
They know very well that vancouver canucks The two teams won four matches in the regular season. They also know from experience that regular season results mean nothing during the playoffs.
Still, the Oilers couldn’t shake the narrative in their Western Conference second-round series against the Canucks, Which starts from Wednesday in Vancouver.
“I don’t know how much more we need to talk about this,” said Leon Draisaitl, who was impressive in the Oilers’ first-round series win over the Los Angeles Kings. He had 10 points and was also a key part of a penalty-killing unit that did not allow a goal in five games.
“We’re going to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We don’t care what happened in the regular season. And I bet you they don’t do it as much as you think.
“We are a different team now. It’s going to be a tough test, with two very good teams involved. The team that plays better hockey will win.”
Draisaitl noted the fact that the Canucks’ three wins over Edmonton – including an 8–1 demolition early in the season – came very early in the season, when the Oilers were going through a crisis. This ultimately cost former coach Jay Woodcroft his job.,
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The Oilers started the season 3–9–1 under Woodcroft. After coach Chris Knoblauch took over, the team went 46–18–5.
“It’s definitely old,” Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais said of the season-series conversation. “It’s been so long. People keep asking about it… Those first three games were, like, six or seven months ago. We’re a different team. And, ultimately, everything that happened in the regular season Makes no sense.
“The most important part is the first game on Wednesday, the rest doesn’t matter.”
Key players like Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and defenseman Darnell Nurse know the mantra “the regular season doesn’t mean anything” well.
In 2020–21, they were on the other side of this discussion, with the Oilers winning seven of nine regular season games against the Winnipeg Jets, including all six Finals matchups, losing only to the Jets in the first round. Playoffs.
The Canucks–Oilers series is a de facto Canadian NHL championship, as the winner will be the last team standing from north of the border.
“It’s exciting,” Draisaitl said, comparing it to the Oilers’ playoff series win over the Calgary Flames two seasons ago.
“The Battle of Alberta was great, it was a lot of fun to be a part of. I am sure this series will write its own story. We are ready.”
oilers By the time the second round starts on Wednesday, you will have got a full week’s leave., providing extra time for forwards Adam Henrique and Evander Kane to recover from whatever was keeping them off the ice. Both players did not practice Monday, but Knoblauch expects both to skate Tuesday.
“We’re hopeful he’s available for Game 1,” Knoblauch said.
If one or both of them can’t go, Knoblauch was non-committal about how he would shuffle the lineup. Heinrich played the first round as a winger on the top line with McDavid and Zach Hyman, while moving to the second unit to play with Kane Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can fill that spot,” Knoblauch said about the potential vacancy at the McDavid line. Mattias Janmark played in practice there.
“I don’t think there’s any one person that can play out there and do it all, but I think we can probably do it by committee. Different people, different circumstances. If we need someone else to play on the right wing, we also have the opportunity to have Zach Hyman play on the left wing.
Edmonton-Vancouver schedule
Second Round nhl The playoff series between the Oilers and Canucks begins on Wednesday in Vancouver.
Game 2 is Friday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, followed by the third and fourth games of the best-of-seven on May 12 and May 14 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Game 5, if necessary, is May 16 in Vancouver. Game 6 will be in Edmonton on May 18 and Game 7 will return to Vancouver on May 20.
There will be two outdoor watch parties in the Ice District on Wednesday and Friday – one in the Plaza and the other in the Fan Park.
Due to previously scheduled events at Rogers Place, there will be no indoor watch parties for away games on Wednesday and Friday this week. Rogers Place hosting All Elite Wrestling on Wednesday foreigner on Friday.
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