Oilers show support for Smith, focus on Game 2 after goalie's gaffe

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers voiced their support for goalie Mike Smith on Tuesday and said they'll have a better showing against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSSC).

The Kings won 4-3 in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series on Monday after a Smith turnover led to Phillip Danault's game-winning goal on a deflection at 14:46 of the third period.
"I think it was one puck-handling error," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said of Smith's attempt to pass to a teammate up the middle, one that was picked off by Kings forward Alex Iafallo. "He made a big save off that error. I think as a team we can do things to help him in that situation, the first one being communicate. I think when you communicate well, it leads to speed for your team. So I think we can do a better job there. And it's a real skill of his."
Woodcroft said he has decided who will start for the Oilers in Game 2 but declined to share it. Smith, who made 31 saves in Game 1, would seem to be the likely choice over Mikko Koskinen, and he's got the support of the locker room despite the error.
"He's a leader on our team," forward Zach Hyman said. "He's vocal in the locker room. Everyone makes mistakes during the course of the game. Even after that, he made a heck of a save to get back in the net and we could have helped him out so it wasn't a one-off that went into the back of the net. There were a series of things that could have been done to prevent it and he's been phenomenal for us. He's part of our team, huge leader in the locker room and just a great teammate."
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In Game 1, the Oilers, the second seed in the Pacific Division, fell behind 2-0 in the first period to the third-seeded Kings. Edmonton eventually tied the game 3-3 by the middle of the second period on an even-strength goal by captain Connor McDavid and power-play goals by Kailer Yamamoto and Leon Draisaitl.
A hesitant start in Game 1 might have had something to do with the energy and emotion created by the 18,347 fans that attended at Rogers Place, defenseman Tyson Barrie said.
"I think there were no fans the last two years so last night was certainly a different atmosphere than we've been used to in playoffs," Barrie said. "It was a lot of fun. It was amazing. The energy of the crowd was great, and you could probably see it a little bit in our game early. We were a little jittery and nervous, too. It was a great atmosphere. We've just got to show a little resilience here and bounce back and get this one here tomorrow.
"They made some good plays and we maybe did a few things that were out of character for us early, maybe overexcited. … We were in good position with five minutes to go and let it get away. We certainly know we've got better in our room and you can feel that. It would be concerning if we thought we gave them everything we had but didn't come out on top. But I think we know we've got a little bit better in our room and we'll be better."
Hyman said the biggest mistake would be to overreact to Game 1.
"It's a long series so don't overthink it, don't overreact," he said. "Watch the tape, it was a close game, we got down 2-0 early and we battled back and had a chance to win and we've been really good at bouncing back. We'll look at the video and we'll be ready for tomorrow."
Under Woodcroft, who was hired Feb. 10 to rreplace Dave Tippett, the Oilers went 26-9-3, including 7-2-0 in games following a regulation loss.
Hyman said it's what makes the Oilers believe they'll be just fine for Game 2.
"I don't think we played poorly in Game 1, I just don't think we played our best," he said. "We have another level to get to. In the playoffs, when you lose a game you just want to play another game as quickly as you can because you don't like that feeling. So we'll be a hungry group tomorrow and we're excited about the opportunity."
Woodcroft said he's encouraged by the number of opportunities Edmonton created between the time it tied the game 3-3 and Danault's game-winning goal later in the third period, even though they couldn't solve Kings goalie Jonathan Quick after that.
"We didn't love the result, disappointed we didn't get the result we wanted but there were some good things to take out of that game," Woodcroft said.
Woodcroft expects the Oilers to settle in having had their first taste of playoff hockey this season and the extra emotion that goes with it.
"I think you want your team to play with emotion," Woodcroft said. "You want controlled emotions. I think for us, we'd like to start the game better than we did…. You want to make sure you're playing toward your identity and your structure. That's what's got us to this point."