The Edmonton Oilers have found themselves in a difficult situation.
They dropped Games 1 and 2 of this first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings on the road, putting them in an early hole.
Only once in team history have the Oilers fallen down 2-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series and come back to win that series. Let’s look back at that instance before looking at the task facing the Oilers in the rest of this series against the Kings.
Triple-OT victory in Game 3 sparks series turnaround for 2006 Oilers
The setup is similar. That year, the eighth-seeded Oilers took on the sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks in the second round of the 2006 postseason. Due to being the lower seed, the Sharks held home ice advantage at HP Pavilion, also known as the Shark Tank.
Game 1 was a 2-1 loss for the Oilers. Defenceman Jaroslav Špaček opened the scoring for the Oilers, but the Sharks fired back with goals from Patrick Marleau in the first period and Christian Ehrhoff in the second. Dwayne Roloson made 28 of 30 saves, while the Oilers fired just 16 shots on Vesa Toskala, yes, that’s the same Toskala who allowed a 200-foot goal when playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was the exact same score in Game 2. Tom Preissing opened the scoring for the Sharks early in the first period. Sergei Samsonov tied the game for the Oilers with just under five minutes to go in the second period, before Joe Thornton scored the game-winning goal just over two minutes later. Roloson made 36 saves on 38 shots, while the Oilers fired 25 shots on Toskala.
For Game 3, the series shifted to Edmonton at the rowdy Rexall Place. In the first period, Marc-André Bergeron opened the scoring, but the Sharks fired back with goals from Marleau and Patrick Rissmiller in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the third. The Oilers had an answer this time, as Raffi Torres scored with 6:47 left in the game. That was it for scoring for 49 minutes and 11 seconds, until Shawn Horcoff scored in triple overtime to cut the Sharks’ lead in half.
In Game 4, they took a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Oilers cut the lead in half. Midway through the second, the lead expanded to 3-1, before the Oilers scored five to win the game 6-3 and tie the series up at two.
Like Game 2, Game 5 ended with the same score as the game before, as the Oilers won the pivotal Game 5 by a score of 6-3. After Jonathan Cheechoo’s goal to tie the game at three, 2:30 into the third period, the Oilers answered with three consecutive goals to set them up to win the series at home.
And they did just that. Michael Peca scored 8:21 into the first period, and Horcoff added an insurance goal midway through the third period for the 2-0 lead. Roloson saved all 24 shots he faced, as the Oilers won Game 6 by a score of 2-0, as well as the series 4-2.
Can the 2025 Oilers come back and beat the Kings?
Through two games, it’s not looking good for the Oilers. They don’t have Dwayne Roloson between the pipes, as Stuart Skinner has an .810 save percentage, allowing 11 goals. It’s not just his fault; the Oilers have been giving up far too many high-danger chances and can’t kill a penalty at this point.
With that being said, the Oilers have been in both games despite being heavily outplayed. Falling into a 4-0 hole in Game 1, they were able to crawl all the way and tie the game at five each with just over 90 seconds left in the game. A fluke goal in the final minute gave L.A. the 6-5 victory.
The Oilers also dug themselves into a hole in Game 2, going down 3-0 in the second period. They got one before the end of the period and added a goal early in the third to cut the lead to one. That was the closest they’d get as the Kings scored three unanswered to take this one 6-2.
While not as conventionally close as the pair of 2-1 losses to the Sharks in 2006, the Oilers are still in this series. A few things will need to go right, such as their netminder making a save and avoiding digging themselves into a hole to start the game. Still, this is a team that went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals the year before and has two top-five players in the league.
Never count out the Oilers.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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