10 thoughts after the Oilers Game 1 win |
The best part about the NHL playoffs is that winning is all that matters. It is infinitely better to play poorly and win rather than play well and lose. There rarely is carryover from one game to the next.
The momentum swings within a game can be massive, and the Oilers won Game 1 with two solid periods, two-goal games from Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen, two key saves in the final eight minutes from Connor Ingram, and two assist games from Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Jake Walman.
Here are my 10 thoughts on the game:
1. Dickinson has had six multi-goal games in his career (four in the regular season and two in the playoffs) and three have come against Anaheim. He saves his best offensive games for the Ducks. His first goal was a beauty move off a stellar pass from Walman. Dickinson is the great example of why underlying stats mean very little in the playoffs. Some who believe strongly in analytics would fret over the fact Dickinson was outshot 9-4 at five-on-five and had sub 50 per cent expected goal share (xGF%). My biggest concern with those who push xGF% is: Which site do you trust? MoneyPuck had him at 35 per cent and NST is at 42.2 per cent. I’ve always been fascinated by how staunchly someone will criticize a player over xGF%, when there isn’t any consistency across the public numbers, but I digress. Goals ultimately decide games, and playing percentages doesn’t mean much long-term. You can have one great game and dominate on shots and possession, but if you score nothing, it means very little, because there is no guarantee you will have the same success the next game. Playoffs are all about winning, and Dickinson produced two massive goals for the Oilers last night. Dickinson had one goal in 17 regular season games since being acquired, but he scores a pair in his first playoff game.
To win in the playoffs, you need unexpected heroes, and Dickinson was that. Dickinson became the fourth player to record a multi-goal game in his Oilers’ postseason debut. He joins Brian Glynn (Game 1 of 1992 round one), Jaroslav Pouzar (Game 4 of 1983 round three) and Jari Kurri (Game 1 of 1981 first round).
2. Walman played his best game of the season. Who saw that coming? Playoffs are a different beast, and Walman was electric all game. He was moving his feet, he was engaged in scrums, and his pass to Dickinson was a beauty. He finished the game with two assists, two shots, two hits, and many plays where he escaped from pressure by a quick burst up ice.........