BLOG: Oilers better equipped to manage energy & emotions of playoff hockey

EDMONTON, AB – Strengthened by past failures in the playoffs, but bolstered by the belief after a challenging yet rewarding 82-game regular season.

These are the 2024 Edmonton Oilers, and this time around, they’re a more professional and experienced group when it comes to dealing with the ups and downs of a long Stanley Cup Playoff run.

Starting on Monday, they plan to prove it.

“I thought we had two good days of practice and the guys look good. They were sharp,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “That being said, I feel the room is in a good place. There's not too much anxiety or nervousness or anything like that.

“There's excitement and a sense of calm that you need, and I feel like our room's in a good spot.”

After speaking to the media following Monday’s optional skate, McDavid’s observation of the Oilers dressing room gives a great snapshot of where the group finds itself only hours before puck drop on Game 1 of being both excited and nervous, but in control of their emotions heading into the chance to claim a 1-0 series advantage on home ice.

The noise surrounding the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t as loud inside the Oilers dressing room this year after finding themselves in the same situation as the last two playoffs hosting the Kings in Game 1 of the first round at Rogers Place.

After defeating LA in each of their last two playoff meetings, the Oilers fell to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final in 2022 and again in 2023 to the  Golden Knights in the second round – their second straight year losing out to the eventual Stanley Cup champion – as part of a two-year window where the Blue & Orange have experienced plenty of growing through adversity.

Perhaps Edmonton’s largest area of growth has been in their confidence in keeping the puck out of their own net, having gone through difficult spells in previous playoffs where momentary lapses in their ability to defend have led to their opponents overturning leads and multiple goals being shipped behind their netminder.

Deep down, there’s a greater lesson in managing the momentum swings during games, which the Oilers believe they’re better equipped to deal with this time around from acquiring more experience during their last two post-season heartbreaks,

"I think that's all about going through the process," McDavid said. "We've talked about it before. We've had failures in the playoffs and learning from those, and like you said, those two-minute lulls, you have to find a way to get yourself out of them.

“Playoff hockey is a lot about momentum and holding it while you have it and wrestling it back when you don't while limiting the mistakes in giving it away. Those stretches of games, obviously that's not what we're looking for and you’ve got to grab it before it causes too much damage."

While it'll be important to keep their emotions in check, defenceman Darnell Nurse emphasized the need for him and his teammates to embrace the raucous environment inside Rogers Place tonight and allow it to fuel their drive to come out with a victory in Game 1 on home ice for the first time since 2017.

Inside the Oilers dressing room, it's just another hockey game, and maintaining their composure through another emotional playoff run is at the heart of that process for the Blue & Orange.

“The atmosphere in our arena is always amazing at this time of the year," Nurse said. "The games are so important, so the excitement's there, but I would think the emotions aren't too high in our room and in our group because it's something you have to manage throughout these playoff series, so I would say it's a good time for us.”

“I think the biggest thing is, and you notice it as you get older, it’s just another game. And sure, there's amplified noise in the building. There's more on the line for what each game means. But at the end of the day, it's just hockey and I think as our team gets more and more comfortable in these situations, you just come out here and play.

"For me personally, that's just coming out and playing and trying to take in a little bit of the emotion and just have fun out there and enjoy it.”