‘A different fire’: Did Oilers save themselves for playoff push?
As the Oilers trudged through the regular season, a theory emerged that they were saving themselves for when it counted most. Now, Edmonton’s playoff dominance has only added fuel to that fire.
EDMONTON — There was a school of thought surrounding the Edmonton Oilers as they muddled through this season — mildly interested at times, completely distracted at others it seemed — that they were saving themselves.
That a 25-game, two-month long Stanley Cup march that had fallen two goals short a year ago taught this roster one valuable lesson: save more for the playoffs, because you’re going to need more left in the tank on June 20-something than you had last year.
Now, I never fully subscribed to that theory that a group of players would or could consciously apply a governor to their regular-season production in hopes of somehow utilizing that reservoir of energy that had pooled for six months.
Subconsciously, however, was it perhaps unavoidable?
In the recesses of their minds, could a group of players whose dream died one period short in Sunrise, Fla., last June simply play a season with an unintentional, involuntary — yet inevitable — foot on the brake?
“I know for me,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, the only member of the organization made available on an off day for the players Friday, “getting behind the bench at the start of the regular season and exhibition, I was like, ‘Wow, this isn’t Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.’
“And that’s just me behind the bench, wearing a suit. Compared to the players who put on equipment and are hitting the ice, involved in the play every night.”
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Knoblauch doesn’t love the theory either, but you sense he gets it. And he’s seeing what we’re seeing.
Somehow Zach Hyman, whose 59 hits in 79 games ranked him 369th in the NHL’s regular season, leads these playoffs with 78 hits in 11 games so far this spring. His hits per game have gone from 0.75 to 7.09.
Connor McDavid’s goals/60 (0.78) was a career low this season, while his points/60 — though still amazing at 2.65 — was his second lowest in 10 seasons. Come playoff time, he’s at 3.31 points per 60, leading the league with 14 assists while sitting second place in scoring with 17 points.
Mattias Janmark has as many goals in 11 playoff games (two) as he had in 80 games all season. Corey Perry — who celebrates his 40th birthday today — had 19 regular-season goals, and five already in the playoffs.
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And perhaps the most stark is Evan Bouchard’s game, which we’d say is 40 per cent better today than in January when his defensive lapses were costing Edmonton games. Today he’s a rock in his own end, a regular on the penalty kill and leading all defencemen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 12 points through two rounds.
Maybe it’s just that elusive skill that NHLers call “finding the next level,” an aptitude that is somehow geo-blocked from entering the Greater Toronto Area. When you leave something on the table to begin with, as the Oilers surely did, does it not feed a sense of rising to the occasion come April and May?
It’s all getting a little too concocted for the coach, it seems.
“A lot of it is just the level of competition. More of what the games mean,” Knoblauch said. “You need a certain amount of intensity, of fire, to play this game. And it’s tougher to get up for a game on Jan. 15 than it is for a Stanley Cup playoff game.
“A lot of it maybe had to do with what was on our minds this year: ‘Alright, let’s just get through the regular season. Let’s hit the playoffs, because that’s what really matters.’
“It’s not that they didn’t care about the regular season, but it’s just a different fire. It’s different level of intensity.”
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Today, the Oilers find themselves at what they hope to be the halfway point of the journey.
“We’re preparing for two teams,” Knoblauch said. “With the way the series is, we’re leaning towards Dallas a little bit. But we’re certainly getting prepared for Winnipeg also.”
With spares like Kasperi Kapanen breathing fresh life into the lineup, the possibility of a return by stout defenceman Mattias Ekholm and the rejuvenation of Stuart skinner in goal, there is still some freshness here.
A freshness that was definitely waning by this time last spring.
OIL SPILLS — Knoblauch said Ekholm could play sometime during this third round. Ekholm has been out of the lineup for all but 1:52 since late March with an undisclosed injury … Goalie Calvin Pickard (lower body) was included in the same timeline, with Knoblauch hoping he can come back mid-series … The expectation, though it is fluid, is that a Western Conference final opening in Dallas would begin on Wednesday, while one starting in Winnipeg would see Game 1 played on Thursday. Interestingly, should Florida meet Carolina in the East Final, the Stanley Cup Final will open at the home of the Western team regardless of which one prevails.
