YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2017 PLAYOFFS
Oilers join four other Canadian teams for a shot at the Cup
A dressing room the day before the first playoff game of the year, much less in 11 years, is a different place.
Instead of a smattering of players sitting in their stalls, quickly taking off their equipment and doing brief interviews, most members of the team are there hanging out, taking in a room packed with media and savouring the scene themselves.
Going into the Oilers’ first home playoff game in 3,929 days, it was an enjoyable exercise Tuesday to tour the room and take the temperature of the team that goes into Game 1 against the San Jose Sharks with a nine-game winning streak at home.
“What one word, one adjective, would you use to describe your feeling going into this series?” was the question your correspondent chose. “Excitement,” said Cam Talbot. “Nerves come into it a bit, but I think for me it is more excitement than anything else. Everyone has been part of big games before and we’ve been playing playoff hockey for the past two weeks jockeying for position. I think if we just approach it as Game 83 of the regular season we’re going to be OK. We don’t want to change anything going into it. We’ve been playing some good hockey of late. There’s no reason to change it just because it’s the playoffs now.”
“Excited” said coach Todd McLellan.
“It’s been a long time for our group, our organization and the city. We want guys to be relaxed and enjoy it. I know it’s going to be really noisy and a really exciting environment for the players to play.” “Confident,” said Pat Maroon. “I feel really good going into Game 1. Guys are really excited in here. Guys worked so hard all season long. This is what we wanted to do and where we wanted to be. We feel really good and really confident coming in to Game 1. You want to be really excited and really confident coming into a situation like this. We have to continue what we did in the regular season into a new season. There’s no better way to start it than at home in your own building.”
“Good,” said Connor McDavid. “I think good is good enough. I think guys feel pretty good about themselves. I think we’ve won 12 of 14 coming in, we’re playing well and the guys feel good entering the post-season.” “Calm,” said Zach Kassian. “I think there’s a sense of calmness to our group. We’re not going to get too hyped up and end up not playing our game. There’s a good even keel in here. We know we have to be composed. We can’t be running around taking penalties. It’s kind of a sense of excitement combined with that calmness.”
“Hungry,” said Matt Hendricks.
“We’ve covered a lot of ground over the course of this season and we’ve shown a lot of growth. In my honest opinion, there’s a lot left in this group. We’ve been a hungry group all season to get to this next step. Now here we are and I think we’re all hungry to add to it.”
“Excited,” said Leon Draisaitl. “I think the whole city is extremely excited and so are we as players.”
“Ready,” said Jordan Eberle. “I’m just ready to go. There are obviously nerves there, but at the same time the excitement over-weighs that. I’ve played a lot of games to finally get it done and get to my first game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Once that puck drops and we get going, I know I’m going to be ready.” “Anxious,” said Mark Letestu. “I’m ready to go. I was ready to play yesterday. The buildup for Game 1 becomes more than actually playing the game. I’m just anxious to get out there and see the response that the crowd is going to have, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“Chomping at the bit,” said Darnell Nurse. “That’s a phrase, but I think that’s it. I think we are all chomping at the bit to play this first game. They’re a really good team and we know it’s going to take 20 men to beat them but I think everyone is just ready to go.”
“Energized,” said Milan Lucic. “There are a lot of guys going into their first playoffs and the city is getting playoff hockey back for the first time in 11 years, so you kind of feel like they do going into this. It’s a good thing to have. I think you have to use that energy and excitement and just feed off your teammates, the fans and the city and go out there and leave it all on the ice.”
“Wired,” said Oilers Entertainment Group’s Tim Shipton. “I can’t wait for Edmonton to show the world what we’ve got going in this city and with this team.”
There are a lot of adjectives that cover it. There are games, there are playoff games and then there are special occasions in the life of a player, coach, organization, man or even a columnist. This one is the latter. It would be great for everyone involved if it turned out to be worth the wait. That might have to involve the Stanley Cup on the ice for that to be the case, however.