McDavid and Oilers offer weak excuses for meltdown against the Canucks

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Hunter Bowman
May 9, 2024 (10:02 PM)

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In their first playoff game in round two, the Edmonton Oilers lost a 4-1 lead and ended up losing the game. After Leon Draisaitl left with an injury, the Oilers played too carefully, letting the Canucks come back.

Goalie Stuart Skinner let in a few goals that he usually stops, but the whole team shares the blame for losing the lead. They switched to playing more defensively and didn't challenge the Canucks' rookie goalie, Arturs Silovs, enough.

After the game, Connor McDavid and Coach Kris Knoblauch tried to explain what went wrong, but their answers didn't really cover it. McDavid tried to stay calm and said it was just one game, but you could tell he was upset.

They're doing everything they could to come back, and we were doing everything we could to hold onto the lead. That happens in the playoffs. We're trying to hold onto leads, sometimes we're a little bit too passive, but I thought we were doing a good job of holding the lead. They find a way to get two, and a third there to win.
-Connor McDavid

The Oilers weren't aggressive enough in the second half of the game. They only took 18 shots on a goalie who has barely played in the NHL, even though they scored four times early on. They should have kept testing him. At one point, they went 23 minutes without a shot on goal, and McDavid didn't have any shots for the first time in his playoff career.

A Oiler team that goes almost 23 minutes without an official shot against a rookie goalie in his 13th NHL game...this isn't protecting a lead, it's not reading the room.

Coach Knoblauch said after practice that the team needs to be more aggressive and create more chances. With Draisaitl possibly out for a while and the Canucks' main goalie, Thatcher Demko, maybe coming back by game 5, the Oilers need to step it up fast.

Knoblauch: «We have to find our game and we need to do it quickly.» #Oilers

Not many teams can say they shut down Connor McDavid in a playoff game 😳

For game 2, the Oilers need to shoot more and keep the pressure on the Canucks' goalie. If they don't, it could get even tougher to score when Demko returns.

Source: Oilersdaily
McDavid and Oilers have poor explanation for meltdown against Canucks