BLOG: Friday's travel day back to Edmonton

DENVER, CO - The Edmonton Oilers boarded a flight back to Edmonton on Friday morning ahead of Game 3 of their Western Conference Final matchup with the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Place on Saturday night.
Before the team departed, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Head Coach Jay Woodcroft spoke to the media from the team hotel about their Game 2 defeat on Thursday night and utilizing their home fans at Rogers Place to get back into the series beginning with Game 3 on Saturday night.
"I think it's going to be a tight game," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "I felt last night was a lot tighter other than the three minutes where we fell asleep for a second there, but that's why they're so dangerous. You fall asleep for a split second and they take advantage."
The Oilers dropped Game 2 at Ball Arena on Thursday by a 4-0 score to drop to a 2-0 series deficit. Edmonton weathered the Colorado storm in the first period of Game 2 through six minutes of shorthanded hockey -- including 1:31 of a 5-on-3 penalty kill -- in a strong opening frame for the Orange & Blue that was undone by three goals by the Avalanche in a 2:04 stretch of the second period.

The Avalanche played a quick game and utilized turnovers above the goal line in their defensive zone, countering quickly in transition after the Oilers weren't able to get the puck deep, win the races, and make it hard for defenders to retrieve the puck and complete breakout passes.
"It's something we've talked about. It's not just putting pucks in behind them -- it's about timing it properly so that we can touch pucks first and they're not getting any easy breakouts," Nugent-Hopkins said. "They skate well back there, so we've got to make sure we're stopping them and getting on top of them so they're not able to jump by us making it a 3-on-2 rush or a 4-on-3 rush.

Nugent-Hopkins continued: "You've got to gain lines. You've got to make sure it goes all the way. You can't have those little turnovers at the top of the circles. They turn it over and come right back at you. That's their game, they're fast that way, so that's something that we can do better and adjust to. I'm pretty confident our group can find a way to be better in that situation."
What lends encouragement to the Oilers players and Coach Woodcroft is their belief that their best game hasn't come out yet this series in the first two games. Home ice over these next two contests will lend a helping hand to that aspect, with Edmonton being 4-2 these playoffs at Rogers Place with a 24-12 goal differential.
"I don't think we've played our best game yet. I think there's more there," Woodcroft said. "I think we have individuals who have more to give. As a team, our team game can be a lot more sound than it has been. I don't feel yet that we've played a full 60 minutes. We've had good spurts, good periods, but we haven't played a full 60 minutes yet and I know what our team is capable of. Certainly, if we bring it over a full 60 minutes, we'll be in a good spot."
Above all, the belief in one another inside the Oilers locker room hasn't wavered after having been through plenty of adversity and hardship over the regular season and playoffs to make it to the Western Conference Final. The fightback will begin Saturday night inside an electrified Ice District and Rogers Place with the support of Oil Country, who hasn't hosted a home game in conference final for 15 years.

"I think it's a lot about staying together as a team, talking to each other as a group and staying positive," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Everything we say in the room is positive. We know we can get the job done, and we know that's our mindset. We don't let that doubt creep in, we don't let it feed anything. It's all about staying positive in our group and lifting each other up."
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- BLOG: Oilers ready for a roaring Rogers Place - -