Oilers show they can grind out wins as they eye deep playoff run
Connor McDavid says it was far from a masterpiece.
The Oilers’ 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday didn’t break social media because of a highlight-reel rush or a backand-forth slugfest.
And that’s perfectly fine for Edmonton’s superstar captain. The grind-it-out victory that gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead in their firstround series is exactly the type of performance that shows they’re ready for a deep playoff run this spring.
“It’s not the prettiest way to win,” McDavid said post-game. “Sometimes you got to find a way to win a game like that where maybe you’re second best, but you just gut one out.”
Stacked with dynamic offensive talent, the Oilers are accustomed to winning by the 7-4 and 6-1 score lines seen earlier in the series. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are regularly putting up post-season numbers that put them in a category with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
On Sunday, the Oilers mustered just 13 shots — a category they led the NHL in this season — against a smothering Kings team to tie their lowest playoff total in franchise history.
But at the other end of the ice, Stuart Skinner stopped 33 shots and earned a shutout, thanks in large part to the unwavering defending from the skaters in front of him that kept the Kings along the perimeter all night long.
“These are the types of games you have to win in the playoffs,” said Oilers veteran Corey Perry, a Stanley Cup champion and three-time finalist. “It’s not going to be 6-5, 7-4 every night. You’re going to have to dig deep and play defence and grind one out, and we found a way.”
“It’s a real strength of ours showing we can win games this way,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm added. “Having in our portfolio that we can play a lot of different games is going to be huge here coming down the stretch.
“These games, we’re not afraid of them.”
The Oilers can win the series at home Wednesday in Game 5 and close out what they hope is the first chapter in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
Edmonton reached the Conference final in 2022 followed by a second-round appearance in 2023, losing both times to the eventual champions.
Forward Zach Hyman believes games like Sunday’s bode well for reaching the ultimate goal in 2024.
“If you have different ways to win then you win more games, right? That’s the reality,” he said. “The margins in the playoffs are so tight, and every year I’ve been here, it’s felt like we could have done more.
“Having more options on how to win a game, that’s huge. And we’re going to have to win more games like this.”