Adversity has never been far from this Oilers team, but they always seem to rise to the occasion when needed, confident that their experience in such situations can help them correct the mistakes from Friday’s Game 3 defeat in Orange County.
“It feels like when our backs are up against the wall, that’s when we kind of shine,” Evan Bouchard said. “It’s not a recipe for success, but it’s good to know that we have that pushback and we can get back into games and series.”
“I think we just need to focus on what we did well these three games and clean up defensively, and I think we’ll be fine,” Vasily Podkolzin said. “These guys have been there multiple times, and they know what to do. Obviously, tomorrow is a huge game for us.
The Oilers could get a boost from the return of Jason Dickinson for Game 4 after he was deemed a game-time decision by Head Coach Kris Knoblauch following his full participation in Saturday’s practice at the Honda Center.
Knoblauch said he hadn’t yet decided on a starting goalie for Game 4, with Tristan Jarry potentially getting an opportunity over Connor Ingram, who’s 1-2-0 with a 4.70 GAA and .849 save percentage after allowing six goals on 38 shots in Game 3 on Friday.
“Today in the NHL, very rarely do you have one goalie play all the games in the playoffs,” Knoblauch said. “20 years ago and before that, it was unheard of to be swapping goalies, but we got two good goalies that we feel confident that they can both play. Going into the playoffs, we felt that there was going to be a time when we’re going to have to make a switch. So whether that’s for game four or game five, whatever it is, we have confidence in both.”
