By beating the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, the Edmonton Oilers did something they haven’t done since April 26, 2017: win Game 1 of a playoff series.
In fact, it is only the fifth time in 22 series since 1996–97 that the Oilers have won a Game 1.
Suffice it to say, the Oilers aren’t known as quick starters out of the gate.
But they’ve slayed that demon in this first round series, ending a streak of seven straight series going down 1–0 (and yes, that includes the play-in in the 2020 bubble because that is considered playoffs by the NHL).
Here’s a rundown of those previous series, which hopefully will be distant memories for the foreseeable future.
2020 Qualifying Round: 6–4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks
This was kind of a controversial series before it even started. At the time of the COVID-19 shutdown, the Oilers were second in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference. The playoff format called for the top four teams in each conference to have a sort of “bye” into the usual first round and instead would play round robin games as a warm up. The remaining teams would play in a best of five qualifying round to see who would go on to the first round.
However, the Oilers had played two more games than the fifth place Dallas Stars while only being one point ahead, and so by points percentage Dallas was actually the fourth place team in the conference.
That makes sense, but when you remember that the NHL decided that the Oilers had to send their third round pick to Calgary as part of the James Neal-Milan Lucic trade, even though both players were two goals away from the number of goals listed in the condition, you can cut Oilers fans some slack for not being happy with Gary Math.
In any event, the Oilers still had a technically favourable draw, as they were facing the lowest ranked Chicago Blackhawks. Granted, the Oilers were actually 1–2 against the Blackhawks that year, so maybe it wouldn’t be as easy of a series as they would think.
And in fact, that is exactly how it went.
The Oilers got off to a hot start, as Connor McDavid scored two and a half minutes into the game to give the Oilers the lead.
Unfortunately, just over ten minutes later the Blackhawks had amassed a 4–1 lead. Not ideal.
The Oilers got a goal to cut the deficit in half four minutes into the second period, but Chicago answered with another goal two minutes later, and then a sixth goal near the end of the period.
The Oilers did manage to score two goals just 36 seconds apart late in the third period to give an appearance of hope, but that was essentially the same as the late two goals L.A. scored in Game 1 on Monday.
What happened after Game 1?
Well, the Oilers clearly took the bad start to heart, as they pummelled Chicago 6–3 in Game 2, as everyone expected.
But then they lost the next two games by one goal and were out of the playoffs within a week, which was great for the fans who had been deprived of hockey (and most other things in life) for the past four and a half months.
2021 First Round: 4–1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets
The 2021 season was one heck of a season. Due to the COVID-19 rules, the NHL instituted an all-Canadian North Division, which meant that each Canadian team faced each other approximately three hundred times.
It was also a season where McDavid did what was thought to be impossible: he crossed the 100 points scoring mark despite only playing 56 games.
The Oilers finished second in the North Division, resulting in a matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
Oilers fans (myself included) were very pleased with this getting this matchup. The Oilers won the series 7–2, including winning the last six games of the matchup.
Expectations were high for the Oilers as well; you had McDavid’s godly performance, the Oilers finished 11th overall in the league, including second in regulation wins and tied for fourth in regulation and overtime wins.
Also, the Oilers entered the playoffs having won seven of their last 10 games, while Winnipeg was the exact opposite, having lost that many (although they were coming in on a two-game win streak).
Like the year prior, the Oilers scored the first goal of the series, this time Jesse Puljujarvi breaking the deadlock eight minutes into the second period.
Unfortunately, also like the year prior, Winnipeg tied it up shortly later. However, the Oilers managed to get out of the period tied.
The Jets broke the deadlock halfway through the third period, and the Oilers pulled their goalie late in the third to get that tying goal. Unfortunately, the ref got in the way of a puck (not the only big role the refs would play in this series) and the Jets got a hold of it to pot an empty net insurance goal.
But it’s the playoffs, so you have to go for broke, and the Oilers pulled the goalie once again. After all, there was still almost two minutes left, plenty of time.
Well, no. Just 32 seconds later the Jets scored their second empty netter to really seal the deal.
What happened after Game 1?
But hey, two empty netters means it was really a one-goal game, so clearly the Oilers were right there with them, and would make it a competitive series, right?
Well, in a sense that is correct. The next three games would be decided by just one goal, all of them coming in overtime. However, none of those OT goals were by an Oiler, and so Edmonton was ousted in a sweep. It’s not surprising that they lost, mind you, since Winnipeg was able to shut McDavid down by not taking a single penalty against him, which was not at all a talking point all summer.
It was a tough series loss, especially since it was three straight OT games which as a fan you tell yourself means the Oilers were just three lucky bounces away from having been up 3–1 in the series instead.
The Jets ended up getting swept in the next round by the eventual Stanley Cup runner up Montreal Canadiens, which made Oilers fans confused as to whether they should be happy the Jets lost or even more embarrassed that they got swept by a team that just got swept.
2022 First Round: 4–3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings
In the first home playoff game that fans could attend since 2017, the atmosphere was electric. The Oilers finished second in the division and had home ice. McDavid had just won the scoring race and notched his first 40-goal season, Leon Draisaitl finished second in the league in goals with a career high 55 goals, Zach “rich-boy-with-the-worst-contract-in-NHL-history” Hyman scored a career high 27 goals and 54 points, and mid-season free-agent signing Evander Kane was on fire with 22 goals in just 43 games. Needless to say, the vibes were good.
The Kings, meanwhile, were the third worst team to qualify for the playoffs by points, and were tied for the least amount of wins of all playoff teams.
Maybe some of that played into some overconfidence on the Oilers part, as the Kings jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the first period. McDavid managed to get a late goal in the last minute of the first to give the Oilers some life, and Kailer Yamamoto built off that with an early second period goal to tie it.
Unfortunately, as seems to be a theme, the Kings quickly regained the lead just over a minute later.
Draisaitl did manage to tie it, but with just over five minutes to go, Mike Smith did Mike Smith things and fired a pass from behind his net right up the middle of the ice, which was intercepted by the Kings with a wide open net.
Smith did his best superman impression, however, and saved his own bacon, keeping the Oilers alive.
Well, for about seven seconds that is. A point shot deflected off Phillip Danault, giving the Kings the lead and eventually the Game 1 win.
What happened after Game 1?
The Oilers rebounded extremely well from that loss, crushing the Kings 6–0, and then 8–2 to take a 2–1 series lead.
The Kings responded with their own drubbing in Game 4 however, with a 4–0 victory tying the series, and then put the Oilers on the brink of elimination with a 5–4 OT victory in a game that had the Oilers score three goals in the third period, including two straight by Draisaitl to send the game to OT before L.A. won it just over a minute into the extra frame.
But the Oilers would win the next two games, including a 2–0 Game 7 victory off a McDavid solo effort dagger goal, which would lead us to the next series in this article.
2022 Second Round: 9–6 loss to the Calgary Flames
If there was an award for craziest playoff hockey in recent memory, this game would be the undisputed winner.
This was one of the most anticipated series in a long time, being the first playoff Battle of Alberta in 21 years. These were also the top two teams in the division who also happened to absolutely despise each other, so you just knew it was going to be good hockey.
If you are a Calgary Flames fan, the start of this game was indeed good hockey. If you are an Oilers fan, you were in a state of shock. Just 26 seconds into the game, the Flames scored on their very first shot. Not great.
Then, just 25 seconds later, the Flames scored yet again on their second shot. Yikes.
Things calmed down a bit after that, as it took the Flames a whole five minutes and seven shots before getting another goal past Mike Smith, resulting in Mikko Koskinen going into the game.
Connor McDavid did manage to stem the bleeding by scoring a goal just under two minutes later, but Calgary came out on fire again to start the second, scoring their fourth goal just 45 seconds into that period.
There was then an absolutely wild three minute and 28 second stretch where four goals were scored, two for each side, meaning the score was 6–3 halfway through the game. Still not a great score for the Oilers, and the back and forth nature of the goals meant that the momentum build was stalling.
However, the Oilers scored two more goals that period to bring them to within just one goal, and then Kailer Yamamoto tied the game just a minute and half into the third, which was unthinkable after the first period.
Unfortunately, the Flames scored three more goals unanswered and the Oilers dropped the first game.
What happened after Game 1?
The Oilers clearly built off their momentum from the intermediate comeback in Game 1, as they would go on to win four games straight to close out the Flames.
Draisaitl would score at least three points in each of those four games, en route to an NHL record 15 assists in one series, and McDavid would score the OT series winning goal, an immediate iconic highlight.
We also got a Mike Smith Undertaker return moment in this series, because why not? The only thing this series was missing was a straight up murder, and frankly if it got to seven games I think that was a real possibility.
2022 Third Round: 8–6 loss to Colorado Avalanche
Thanks to their victory over the Flames, the Oilers made it to the Conference Finals for the first time since their Cinderella run in 2005–06.
The Oilers were the unanimous underdog, but managed to get the series’ first goal thanks to Evander Kane. The Avs, though, tied it up just 36 seconds later, as is tradition.
After the Oilers tied the game at 2–2 with 23 seconds left in the first, Cale Makar scored nine seconds later for the Avs to take back possession of the lead, ironically thanks to Makar not being able to retain possession. No I’m not still salty about the call, why do you ask?
Yet another wild second period would ensue, with four goals scored in the first six minutes (including just 32 seconds in by Nazem Kadri) resulting in the Avs going up 7–4 to end the period.
The Oilers battled back though, getting the game to 7— before the Avs potted an empty netter to seal the deal.
What happened after Game 1?
The Oilers lost Game 1 against the Flames 9–6, which included a flurry of second period goals and late comeback and then they won four straight, so surely the same thing would happen here right?
Nope. The Avs showed why they were the Stanley Cup favourites (which they ended up fulfilling) and won the next three games as well, although the Oilers managed to take them to OT in Game 4 at least.
One has to wonder if perhaps the Flames series had taken a lot out of the Oilers. Also, Draisaitl playing on a high ankle sprain for the last two rounds clearly was a factor.
So while disappointing to get swept, it was still an achievement to make the Conference Finals and was looked at to be a building block on the way to the Oilers eventual Stanley Cup.
2023 First Round: 4–3 OT loss to the L.A. Kings
If people were excited for the 2022 playoffs, that was nothing compared to last year.
The Oilers finished just two points out of first in the Western Conference, Connor McDavid scored 64 goals, the highest since Alex Ovechkin’s 65 in 2007–08, and 153 points, the highest since 1996 and an amount that only three other players in NHL history had bested.
Seven Oilers set career highs in points, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first 100-point season, making the Oilers the first team since the Penguins in that 1995–96 season to have three 100 points scorers.
Additions to the team were paying off dividends, with Klim Kostin becoming an immediate fan favourite and Mattias Ekholm steadying the defensive core and allowing Evan Bouchard to flourish as an offensive defenceman.
The Oilers finished the season out 18–2–1 after acquiring Ekholm, including heading into the playoffs on a nine-game win streak.
The Oilers carried that momentum into Game 1, taking a 2–0 lead after the first period.
The Kings were a better team than the previous year, though, so they were not going to be a pushover.
Adrian Kempe scored just 52 seconds into the third period, and although Draisaitl responded, the Kings would score two more goals to tie it and take it into overtime.
The Oilers thought they had won in OT, but Derek Ryan’s goal was called back due to a high stick.
The Kings then got a power play and made no mistake, ending the game and shocking the Oilers.
What happened after Game 1?
The Oilers rebounded in Game 2 like they did the year previously, although not nearly as emphatic in a 4–2 win.
But the Kings would win the next game, again in OT, off a controversial missed call of a high stick prior to the goal, which upon review was not overturned because as we all know pucks change directions by themself all the time.
The Oilers didn’t let that get to them though, as they would go on to win the next three games and oust the Kings for the second year in a row.
2023 Second Round: 6–4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights
Like in Round 1, the Oilers would open the scoring in this series off a Leon Draisaitl goal, but Vegas responded with three straight goals after.
Draisaitl did his darnest to win the Oilers this game, scoring the next two goals to tie it, and then scoring his fourth goal to bring the Oilers back to within one goal before Jack Eichel sealed the game with an empty netter.
What happened after Game 1?
The Oilers responded well to an opening loss yet again, demolishing Vegas 5–1. Vegas would return the favour the very next game, however, this time being the one winning 5–1.
The Oilers would tie the series up the next game with a 4–1 win, which Alex Pietrangelo took super well and definitely deserved just a one game suspension because when you think about it, is a tomahawk to the wrist really that bad? And at least he felt bad about it and then patted himself on the back about feeling bad about it. I think he may have misread what the entire hockey world meant when they were saying a one game suspension was a joke (hint Alex: they meant you deserved more games).
Darnell Nurse would also receive a one-game suspension in the aftermath, which was automatic due to getting an instigator penalty in the final minute of the game, a suspension that Golden Knights’ forward Jonathan Marchessault called “lucky” for their team.
The Golden Knights would win the next two games, and for the second straight season the Oilers would bow out on home ice to the eventual cup winners.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
