Oilers await next opponent, will use rest ‘as a weapon’

During what they hope is a deep run through the gruelling Stanley Cup playoffs this spring, the Edmonton Oilers will take all the time off they can get.

“Rest is always a good thing,” captain Connor McDavid said. “Rest is a weapon this time of year.”

The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Wednesday night at Rogers Place to close out the best-of-seven series in five games, advancing to the second round and saving themselves a long trip back to Los Angeles for Game 6.

“In the long run … these extra days are massive, they’re critical,” forward Leon Draisaitl said. “Same thing with the travel, we lose [Wednesday] and you have to get back on the plane and head to L.A.

“We dug deep to earn that right to get a little bit of rest.”

In the meantime, the Oilers are waiting to see who they’ll have to go through next en route to their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

Edmonton will face the winner of a matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Vancouver leads the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 in Nashville today.

“I’d be lying if I said that I’m not going to pay attention to it,” Draisaitl said. “This is our job, this is our life. Definitely going to pay attention to who we’re going to face next.”

Should Nashville even the series, Game 7 goes Sunday and Edmonton gets at least five days off.

Though rest is a weapon, McDavid said the Oilers can’t become complacent and lose the momentum of their first-round victory.

“We’ve got to make sure that we work, we practice hard against each other, make sure we’re ready to go,” he said. “There’s no change in our game.

“Everyone that’s left is a good team. They’ve got great players that are competing hard, too.”

The Oilers earned the break after they outclassed the Kings in special teams, something both coaches said made the difference in the series.

Edmonton, with McDavid and Draisaitl leading the way, finished 9-for-20 with the manadvantage in the series and scored twice moments after a penalty expired on Wednesday. McDavid led the playoffs with 12 points and Draisaitl was second with 10 entering Thursday’s action.