Oilers 'far superior' to Kings when they're on top of their game: analyst
It's a travel day for the Edmonton Oilers — and some of their fans are along for the ride.
Both the National Hockey League team and their supporters, particularly those who plan to attend Friday's Game 3 of the tied playoff series, are hoping for a bounceback performance against the Los Angeles Kings following Wednesday's painful overtime loss.
Edmonton fell behind early in Wednesday's Game 2 but tied it up twice, going on to drop a 5-4 decision on home ice at Rogers Place.
Hockey analyst Tom Gazzola says, however, it's way too early for Oilers fans to be hitting the panic button even though Wednesday's Oilers loss marked the team's fourth straight loss to the Kings in a playoff game that reaches overtime.
“You knew L.A. was going to push back hard and Edmonton still found a way to claw themselves back into the game, so Oilers fans should stay confident ... they shouldn’t lose confidence in this team," Gazzola told CTV News Edmonton.
One reason to stay confident could be the emergence of Dylan Holloway. The Oilers forward scored his first two NHL playoff goals on Wednesday.
Gazzola says when the Oilers are playing well — "sharp and on top of things" — they're a "far superior team" to the Kings.
"L.A. needs to play its best game and can't let up at all and have any mistakes and expect to win," he said
"That's where I look at the Oilers in their maturation process, as opposed to the Kings who, if you look at it, their goaltending still suspect like it was last year. The defence, the third pairing is vulnerable.
"If the Oilers skate hard on the third pair of the L.A. Kings, they're going to create opportunities and eventually get to Cam Talbot so you could make the argument that L.A. has improved when it comes to depth up front — they have a healthy Viktor Arvidsson, a much more mature Quinton Byfield, and they've got Pierre Luc Dubois but Pierre Luc Dubois had a bad season for the L.A. Kings.
"So I look at the Oilers, I say this is a team that has matured and should be better, and if it brings its 'B' game to the table or its 'A' game to the table, the Kings have no hope."
Some hopeful Oilers fans are on their way to southern California for Game 3, including Evan Rutman, who is heading to Disneyland with his family -- and now, potentially a bonus hockey game, too.
He plans to scoop up resale tickets on Friday morning to take his sons to their first-ever playoff game.
“I figure this is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them and for me, also, so I’m like, 'Let’s just do it,'" he told CTV News Edmonton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Ontario family releases statement on infant son, grandparents killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash
An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.