Orange Crush vs. Orange County

In the forthcoming battle of Orange Crush versus Orange County, the Edmonton Oilers say they can no longer be characterized as green.

“We’ve got playoff experience now. We just went through a round,” Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said Monday.

The Oilers open the second round of the National Hockey League playoffs Wednesday in California’s Orange County against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Oilers, who have adopted the slogan “Orange Crush” for their playoff run, dispatched a veteran San Jose Sharks team in six games in the first round.

They won despite a lineup of young players, and even some veterans, with little to no playoff experience at the NHL level.

The Oilers got a big boost from goaltender Cam Talbot. In his first NHL playoff series as a starter, Talbot recorded two shutouts and turned back the Sharks when they attacked in waves in the deciding game, a 3-1 Oilers win.

Talbot said they experienced everything in that series. “We were up, we protected leads, we were behind, we came back, we won in overtime, we got blown out and we learned lessons from that.”

It was not only the first taste of the NHL post-season for key Oilers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Oscar Klefbom, Jordan Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins, it was also the first time the Oilers had been in the playoffs in a decade.

The Ducks are a veteran team led by Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Corey Perry.

The numbers suggest a long series. The Ducks won the Pacific Division with 105 points, two up on the Oilers, but the Oilers won the season series, 3-2. Anaheim has won its past 18 regulation games, including four straight over the Calgary Flames in the first round.