EDMONTON — Like almost all of his Edmonton Oilers teammates, veteran defenceman Mattias Ekholm is still vying for his elusive first Stanley Cup title.
But, like a handful of Oilers, Ekholm got all the way to the Final elsewhere — in his case, in 2017 with the Nashville Predators.
What sparked that run? Ekholm and the Preds quickly dispatched top-seeded Chicago with a sweep.
“It carried us through at least another two rounds,” Ekholm said. “Everyone was feeling energized, and it gave you that extra rest. The first round is really important.”
The Oilers finally got that memo after many opening-act outings ranging from unlucky to terrible.
They blasted the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 on Monday to win a Game 1 for the first time since the 2017 second round against Anaheim — breaking a seven-game losing streak in that scenario.
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How the Oilers dominated Game 1 vs. the Kings: 5 takeaways
For a team trying to get over the hump and not only make the Stanley Cup Final but also win it, the Oilers would surely benefit from getting through their first opponent in a hasty and stress-free manner.
Monday was a wonderful start to that ideal outcome.
“It just helps in the sense you only have to win three games instead of four (and) you’re not behind the gun,” winger Zach Hyman said. “We’ve got to defend home ice.”
They’re halfway there after dominating the Kings for much of the game. The score flattered the visitors. This one was basically never in doubt from the moment Hyman scored 6:52 into the first period.
Hyman recorded four points, capped off by his third goal just over six minutes into the final frame to give the Oilers a four-goal lead. Hats rained down on the ice, causing a long delay as arena workers collected 14 clear garbage bags full of headwear.
“I’ve never seen so many hats,” Hyman said.
Defenceman Evan Bouchard had four assists. All of Hyman’s goals were set up by Connor McDavid, who had five helpers on the night. McDavid became the 14th player in NHL history to accomplish that feat in a playoff game — the first since Geoff Courtnall in 1988.
“Ninety-five from 100,” Hyman said jokingly, as McDavid became the fourth player to reach the century mark in assists in a single regular season just a week earlier.
“When he’s playing like that, he controls the game.”
McDavid and Hyman’s exploits were part of a banner night for the top line, which included trade deadline acquisition Adam Henrique.
Hyman topped the group with three points at five-on-five. Henrique had a goal and an assist. Two of McDavid’s assists came at full strength. They accounted for the first three Oilers goals before the game was 25 minutes old. That paced the Oilers’ attack.
Those goals were scored against Kings forwards Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore and Viktor Arvidsson — a matchup Kings coach Jim Hiller wanted. That didn’t go according to plan. The Oilers outscored the Kings 3-1 in the head-to-head battle.
“We’re going to have to do a better job against McDavid’s line. That’s the clear takeaway there,” Hiller said. “Who are the three guys that can do the job there? That’s the question for us that we have to figure out.”
Edmonton’s elite power play took over from there, capitalizing on three of four opportunities with goals scored by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Hyman.
The Oilers clearly won the special teams battle. They killed off the Kings’ two power plays. Their fourth-ranked PP owned the Kings’ second-best PK.
“We’ve got a few things up our sleeve still, which is a good thing,” McDavid said.
There wasn’t much — if anything — to dislike about their performance.
Quibble over goalie Stuart Skinner’s stats if you must. He allowed four goals on 37 shots. Really though, it’s hard to fault him on any of them.
A point shot from Mikey Anderson beat him through a screen. Adrian Kempe and Pierre-Luc Dubois banked pucks off Bouchard and fellow blueliner Darnell Nurse. Moore lucked out and scored with 1:11 left in regulation after Cody Ceci’s shot broke in half.
“Stu was solid,” Hyman said. “I’ve never seen so many bad bounces for a goalie.”
Coach Kris Knoblauch said the Oilers were both fortunate and opportunistic offensively. It’s not like they picked apart the Kings’ 1-3-1 defensive scheme through the neutral zone. But the Oilers did have the Kings on their heels often and attacked with vigour whenever they smelled blood.
It led to a decisive victory — that elusive first one in seven tries over as many years to start a series.
They must keep their foot pressed against the pedal. Three more games like this could set them up exceptionally in the long run.
“We have to come out with that same urgency, that same desperation,” McDavid said.
In addition to Ekholm, four other Oilers have played in the Cup Final and come out on the wrong end — Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Brett Kulak and Corey Perry, who infamously lost three straight championship series with as many different teams from 2020 to 2022.
But Perry is the one Oiler with his name on the hallowed trophy, having won with Anaheim in 2007. That playoff experience — Monday was his 197th postseason game — is a major reason why the Oilers signed him as an in-season free agent.
Perry sees a team as ready as any he’s been on to win it all.
“This group is special,” Perry said. “It’s a close group — very close, actually. Everybody knows their role.
“There are some guys in here that are world-class players. They’re going to lead us. It’s the bottom guys that can step up at a certain point of the series and really take over.”
The world-class players did their thing in Game 1. As the others follow, the Oilers could be a force to be reckoned with.
Winning the first game — something the Oilers have struggled with recently — can only help get the ball rolling. Now it’s up to them to make sure that rolling ball is like an unstoppable force gaining size and speed down a snowy mountain.
“It’s very nice,” Hyman said. “Lots of work to do. We’ve still got to play as hungry as we do when we lose.”
(Photo: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)
