The Oilers were victorious in a Game 1 on home ice for the first time since 2017 after being 0-7 in their previous seven tries, and are 21-3 all-time in series where they’ve held a 1-0 advantage – including a 13-0 record when they opened with a win at home.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to win four out of seven and that doesn’t change no matter how it goes for the first few,” Nugent-Hopkins added. “But it’s definitely nice not having to chase it because it’s been a while for us to get that one out of the way.”
Earning the opening victory helps embolden the Oilers heading into what will be a crucial Game 2 where the series can go two different directions – either to a two-game lead for Edmonton and a stranglehold on the series, or home-ice advantage shifting back in the Kings’ favor heading back to Crypto.com Arena for Games 3 & 4.
Having been in both positions, the Oilers know there’s plenty of hockey left in this series that will play out over separate games that will unfold regardless of what happened in the previous contest; posing new challenges, adversity and adjustments for bot sides. For Edmonton, past experiences like when they kept their season alive in 2022 before winning on home ice in Game 7 help keep them centered on just winning one game at a time.
“We like where we’re at right now, but at the same time, last year we went to LA at 1-1 so there’s a lot of work left to be done,” Mattias Ekholm said. “You feel a little bit better about yourself waking up this morning being up 1-0, so we’ll take that, but we also know that game’s in the past and we have to focus on tomorrow.”
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