After waiting through the weekend while everyone else kicked off their playoff run, the Edmonton Oilers finally got the chance last night at Rogers Place to get their own playoff push going. With the Anaheim Ducks in town for Games 1 and 2, I was looking for Edmonton to set the tone in the series opener and show everyone why they’re favoured in this series. Seemed like a simple enough ask, right? And while it definitely wasn’t the smoothest win we’ll ever see, the Oilers needed to lean on their experience on more than a few occasions just to squeak out the result we wanted. Final Score: 4-3 Oilers

Maybe it’s because I watched so many home teams lose Game 1 over the weekend, but I was super nervous about what we’d see as I walked into Rogers Place. The Oilers have a history of blowing the first game of a series, and I was really hoping the boys would find a way to buck that trend this time. As much as I believe they should ultimately win this series, no matter how Game 1 went, I still wanted to see them kick things off on the right foot. I wanted to see them show they’re the better team, and that it really isn’t close. I wanted the more experienced group to go out and play like it. The bright side is that the Oilers did exactly that in the first period, dominating the frame and building a two-goal lead. The bad news is they gave up that lead and then some in just over 14 minutes in the second.

Our boys went from running the show to getting completely smothered by the Ducks, and they didn’t have many answers for Anaheim’s push. Needless to say, it wasn’t ideal. But I think the Oilers’ experience paid off in the third. Down a goal with 20 minutes to play, they got back to pushing the pace and did a much better job working around Anaheim’s clogged middle. The result was a pair of goals from Jason Dickinson (his second) and Kasperi Kapanen (his, too), both coming from sustained pressure and capitalizing on mistakes. While it would have been nice to avoid needing a comeback, you have to think the Oilers’ experience in these moments helped.

Obviously, the biggest story leading up to the playoffs was how banged up the Oilers were, with a few key pieces on the injured list as real question marks ahead of Game 1. Given how important Leon Draisaitl and Jason Dickinson are to Edmonton’s Stanley Cup hopes, the idea of being without them to start the playoffs was a major problem. But as the days rolled along and both guys started practicing with their teammates, the hope that they’d be ready to go really started to build. I was cautiously optimistic I’d see both of them at Rogers Place, but I wasn’t holding my breath either. Social media was saying they’d play, but I needed to see it with my own eyes. So when I got to the rink and saw both Draisaitl and Dickinson on the ice, it was hard not to be fired up about getting two key players back for Game 1.

What I didn’t expect, though, was that Dickinson would be the guy to finish with a pair of massive goals at the most important times. While Draisaitl played well, you could tell he wasn’t moving the way we’re used to seeing. It kind of reminded me of playing Mario Kart with Bowser. Sometimes it takes a minute to get the big man going, but once he’s there, the top speed looks pretty good. As for Dickinson, he looked solid despite knowing full well he was probably playing through all kinds of pain. Even with his leg likely screaming at him, he went out and had his best game as an Oiler, cashing in twice en route to the win. I mean, who would’ve thought Dickey would be the one to pot a pair? I didn’t see it coming. And even with Draisaitl picking up a pair of assists, including on the game-winner, you have to love the way other guys stepped up to get the job done.

It’s not often that the Oilers win a game like that without getting a goal from Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. As much as it’s annoying to admit, this team usually goes as their stars do. But on a night when the finish wasn’t there for the big guns, it was Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen who provided all the offence. Dickinson opened the scoring on a breakaway beauty after Jake Walman found him on a dart of a stretch pass, and Kapanen followed it up by extending the lead to 2-0 after finding space in the offensive zone and picking up his own rebound. It was a strong start from the depth, and exactly the kind of contribution you need in a playoff opener.

After the script flipped in the second period and the Oilers found themselves trailing 3-2 after a horrid run of play, it was the same two guys who got the train back on the rails in the third. Dickinson tied the game after pumping home Mattias Ekholm’s rebound in the slot, and then Kapanen capped things off only a minute later with the game-winner after taking a feed from Vasily Podkolzin in the slot with under two minutes to go. For the second time in the same game, both guys came up with clutch goals at moments when the team needed them most. If the Oilers are going to go anywhere, they’re going to need more nights like this, where the depth finds a way to chip in key goals and take the pressure off their best players. On Monday night, the Oilers won because of their depth scoring, and that has me super excited to think about what life will be like when the Dynamic Duo actually gets going. Either way, you’ve gotta love depth scoring, amirite?

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