After a disappointing finish on Monday night in Game 1 that saw the Edmonton Oilers sputter out of the gates before roaring back to tie the game at five apiece and blowing it moments later, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Wednesday was important. Winning Game 2 was the mission, and the only acceptable outcome. Anything else would be a disaster. As it turns out, disaster was on the menu as the Kings ran away with Game 2 after grabbing an early lead and never once giving it up. Final score: 6-2 Kings.

After giving up six goals and finishing Game 1 with a .800 save percentage in a heartbreaking loss, Stuart Skinner was going to be a story no matter how Wednesday’s game went. If he bounced back with a strong start, the doubters would wonder if he could do it consistently. If not, the haters had another checkmark on the list of reasons why we need an upgrade. Unfortunately for the pro-Stu camp, Game 2 isn’t going to do them any favours. While there’s absolutely no doubt that the skaters in front of him were porous to say the least, he wasn’t able to cover up enough of those mistakes. He was not always the problem, but our man didn’t do himself many favours either.

The bad news is that the numbers are what they are. In his two starts, Skinner has given up 11 goals on 58 shots for a 6.11 GAA and a .810 save percentage. Even with the mistakes and the scattered defensive play, it’s impossible to win in the NHL with those numbers. And while I’m not trying to pile onto the guy, Gord knows he’s getting enough on social media, it’s also impossible not to point out that our starter is getting shelled and ended up getting yanked in a critical Game 2. The obvious story we’ll be watching over the next two days is whether Kris Knoblauch will turn the crease over to Calvin Pickard as a Hail Mary attempt to get this show back on the rails. I guess that he might. What the coach ultimately decides will be a major talking point for the pundits and fanbase alike.

There’s no way around the fact that being down 2-0 in the series is as bad as it gets. There’s no outcome worse than that. After making it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final less than a year ago, the Edmonton Oilers are on the ropes against an L.A. Kings team they’ve beaten the last three years in the first round. Not ideal, friends. We’re down bad and need a McMiracle to pull us out of his hole. As much as I singled out Stuart Skinner and his .810 save percentage through the first two games in the paragraph above, nothing I said would be fair without acknowledging how poor the team has been defensively. Not only do they look lost in their own end, but they’re giving the puck away like the game is a charity raffle, and turnovers are our specialty.

Unless the Oilers figure out how to play smarter in their own end, I don’t see how the results will be any different. Yeah, we can point to the goaltenders giving up goals aplenty, but the moments leading up to those markers have been just as bad. It’s like this team is trying to force every single pass and play to the point of overthinking everything they do. It’s almost like this series is the first time they’ve played games at this speed or something. While I knew beating the Kings would be tough — they’re a damned strong hockey club — I didn’t expect this level of scattered play from an Oilers group whose seen almost everything you can in a playoff scenario. Instead, they’re playing like rookies. Instead, they’re making mistakes that should have been cleaned up in the pre-season. I don’t know that I saw that coming, but maybe I should have.

Unlike the past three series against the Kings, the Oilers’ special teams are a disaster. The boys aren’t getting the offence they need when L.A. gets busted for cheating, and the PK squad has been just as bad at keeping pucks out of the net when our side is shorthanded. The Oilers are getting their ass kicked at both ends of the rink, and this series is going to be over in a hurry unless they can figure out a solution. It’s a wild situation to be in after the special teams were a strength for this club in last year’s run, but to this point, the only good thing you can say about them is when either the PP or PK wrapped up without giving up a goal.

1. Outscored in every period, the Oilers head back to Rogers Place looking to find some life in a series where they’ve been the inferior hockey team. Not ideal, friends. Not in the slightest.

2. If I’m looking for bright sides, how can I not pick out Leon Draisaitl for being the only Oiler to score in back-to-back games? As he’s done all season long, Draisaitl was the Oilers’ most dynamic offensive weapon, with the biggest problem being that he can only play ~19:03 per night. I wish there were a way to give him some He-Man juice to keep him on the ice for all 60 minutes, you know? Unfortunately, such a product is not available, and all we can hope is that he can somehow save this series despite playing only 1/3 of the game.

3. He hasn’t played a game since June 10th of last season, but Evander Kane was back in the lineup for the first time in nearly a year, and I was excited to see how he’d perform. I assumed adrenaline would power him through the first few shifts, but the real question is how he would respond to regular shifts when everyone around him is dialled in after playing for months. And even though I’d certainly say there were rusty moments — the puck bobbled off his stick more often than is normal — I appreciated how he was willing to throw his body around. In 14:46 of TOI, Kane registered one shot on goal, four hits, and two PIMs for a soft call. That’s not too shabby for a guy who hasn’t seen an NHL game and worked his way through multiple surgeries along the way. 

4. Viktor Arvidsson giveth, Viktor Arvidsson taketh away. Only moments after he scored what seemed at the time like a massive goal for the Oilers, Arvidsson coughed the puck up right in front of his net, which led to a backbreaking goal by the Kings that squashed the momentum entirely. What a rollercoaster.

5. John Klingberg picked up an assist in his first game in what seemed like forever, as he continues to bounce back from double hip surgery. In the end, Klingberg played 18:48 in TOI and finished with one shot, three hits, and a giveaway after Knoblauch swapped him in for Josh Brown.

6. I know you’ve been waiting to hear about the faceoffs, so here I am telling you that the Oilers won only 47.8% of the draws. Not good enough, and another “L” on the report card.