Oilers’ star players reveal what went wrong in Game 1

The Edmonton Oilers had control of Game 1 of the first round series in the Western Conference on Monday night, but the Los Angeles Kings earn the statement win in a 4-3 overtime victory. This was a slap in the face for the Oilers, but it sounds like they can recover from it, especially with star players identifying what went wrong.

“Got to be more mature than that,” said star forward Leon Draisaitl, who posted two goals in the loss. “It’s a 3-1 game with eight minutes left or whatever. We’ve got to lock that down.

“We have to be more mature.”

Captain Connor McDavid was adamant that his Oilers were the better team 5-on-5 in the series opener, but they desperately need to clean up the penalty problems moving forward.

“You can’t take six penalties in a playoff game!”

The Kings tallied their last two goals - the tying one at 19:43 of the third period with the goalie pulled to send the game to overtime - on the power-play. Alex Iafallo put the OT winner behind goalie Stuart Skinner with Vincent Desharnais in the penalty box.

“We had the game in our hands. We just let it slip away,” Desharnais said. “We took too many penalties, and they just bury you at some point.”

Game 2 takes place later tonight before shifting to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. Head coach Jay Woodcroft and his players are now focused on tying the series.

“That said, it’s one game. We feel it’s going to be a long series between two teams – a 109-point team and a 104-point team. Both teams are going to have their moments,” Woodcroft concluded.

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