PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Kings (Game 5)
EDMONTON, AB – When you get down to the nitty-gritty of winning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a team’s ability to scrape out vital victories can come down to their ability to win in multiple fashions.
As the Oilers arrive back in Oil Country on Wednesday night with the opportunity to eliminate the Kings for the third straight season in the Western Conference First Round, they have a keen understanding and appreciation for this idea.
“You try to rely on past experiences,” defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “Each game and each opportunity present different challenges, and I think you just have to be ready for everything.”
The Oilers are feeling more confident than ever that they can play whatever game is necessary to win in the postseason and advance to the second round on Wednesday after they held off the Kings’ best push of the series in a 1-0 shutout victory in Game 4 that required a full defensive effort from every player involved.
“You have to be comfortable playing in those types of situations; those types of games,” defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “It’s not the first one we’ve played around here and it definitely won’t be the last either. So for us, we have to be comfortable in those situations.”
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence that we know how to defend as well as we did,” goaltender Stuart Skinner added. “I think that was a huge key.”
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