Looking back, Edmonton has scored first in 4 of the 5 Game 1s played at home in the McDavid era, each time within the first 10 minutes. Twice they've built a 2-0 lead in the first period and held that margin going into the 2nd.
Somehow they've gone 0-5 in those games.
Hopefully if they get an early lead again, they buckle down and carry that lead home.
Defense and structure are a coaching issue, flat out. Tippet was bad at it, Woodcroft was better but still leaky, Knob seems to be better than Woodcroft at it. It's why Winnipeg can go from a mediocre defensive team under Maurice, to the best defensive team under Bowness. It's why Deboer makes the finals seemingly with every new team he coaches, regardless of their defensive players. It's why Boston can lose Chara, Bergeron and Kreijci and not miss a step.
This Oilers team does seem to be a bit more mature and defensively sound than previous iterations- top 5 in xGA, 10thth in GA over the course of the season (17th last year), so that's a positive. This team's structure will be key in determining how far they can go. Almost every team in this year's playoffs is incredibly structurally sound, especially in the west. Dallas, Vegas, Colorado, even Vancouver. We have to win the coaching and defensive battle to go all the way, something we didn't do last year. Cassidy ate Woodcroft's lunch last year.
