PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 3)
EDMONTON, AB – Over to you, Oil Country.
After earning the split in Dallas to tie the series at 1-1 and take over home-ice advantage, the Edmonton Oilers will try to utilize their home crowd on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place when they host the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
“You come down to a city like this and they’re going to make it tough, so going home with a split is a good thing,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said post-game on Friday. “We now have home-ice advantage, so it’ll be a huge Game 3 in front of our crowd. That building is going to be electric. We know that, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to play there. The series is a long way from over, and we’ve got to dig in here and have a good day tomorrow and go from there.”
The Oilers are facing a quick turnaround to Game 3 with a full travel day on Saturday before jumping into a rare playoff matinée against the Stars the next afternoon, with morning skates or puck touches for either side between the 1:00 p.m. MDT puck drop and Edmonton’s 3-0 shutout in Game 2 on Friday.
“I’m very happy with the guys and how they came out in yesterday’s game, knowing its importance,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said Saturday morning. “Coming back to Edmonton down two would have been very difficult against this team. I think we’ve responded really well after losses for the most part, and we knew we needed a good effort to get that win.”
According to NHL Stats, the Oilers have hosted afternoon playoff games in franchise history (excluding the 2020 playoffs), which came in Game 6 of the 1997 Conference Quarterfinals against Dallas (noon local) and a year later in Game 3 of the 1998 Conference Quarterfinals against Colorado (4:00 pm local).
For McDavid, who’s never played in an afternoon playoff contest in his career, the majority of players who’ll be on the ice at Rogers Place on Sunday will be in a similar situation, so there’ll be no excuses from either Edmonton or Dallas to come out flat in Game 3 with the chance to take control in this series.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played a playoff matinée game, so everybody’s in the same boat,” McDavid said. “We gotta come out strong. We’re at home. I’m sure the crowd will be excited, so we’ll be ready. There’s no excuse. It doesn’t matter if you play five overtimes or have to play in two days. Whatever the case may be, everybody’s in the same boat.”
“I think whatever team’s ready to roll is going to have the advantage. It’s got to be us. We’ve got to make sure that we’re ready to go right from puck drop. It’s a long travel day tomorrow and a quick turnaround, so we’ve got to be ready.”
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