With the Edmonton Oilers down 2–0 in their current series, Friday night’s game was a must-win. After holding a steady lead after the first period, things fell apart in the second. The Los Angeles Kings had an offensive explosion, scoring four goals to take the lead heading into the third. The Edmonton Oilers resilience pays off as Evander Kane tied the game before Evan Bouchard gave them the lead just 10 seconds later. This massive Game 3 victory provides much relief to Oilers fans, along with extra motivation. The current situation for Edmonton Things have not looked good for the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs. They are giving up plenty of goals each night, largely thanks to an abysmal penalty kill. The team currently has the worst penalty kill in the playoffs with a whopping 41.7%. This disaster has allowed the Los Angeles Kings to dominate on the power play, recording an outstanding 58.3 percent through the first three games. Goaltending has been a significant issue with Oilers all season long, especially in the playoffs. Stuart Skinner has put up a 0.810 save percentage in two games played, along with a 6.11 goals against average. Calvin Pickard got the nod to start Game 3, where he stopped 24 of 28 shots. This may not be the greatest statline on its own, but in the end, Pickard held the Oilers in the game. His last save against Anze Kopitar in the dying seconds sealed the deal for the Oilers in their 7–4 victory. Looking into the remaining games of the series, the Oilers must win when they are at home. The Kings held an unbelievable record on home ice during the regular season with a 31–6–4 record. Things have gone well so far in the playoffs, winning their first two games on home ice. If the Oilers plan on winning this series, they must find a way to defeat the Kings on home ice. Previous experiences for the Oilers Over the past few years, the Oilers have faced a lot of adversity in the playoffs. People have consistently written them off, forgetting that they can have the best offence in the league. In last year’s run, the Oilers found themselves down in the second, third, and fourth rounds of the playoffs. After trailing 3–2 in the second round series against the Vancouver Canucks, the team battled back to win in seven games. In the third round against the Dallas Stars, the Oilers found themselves down early, two games to one. Connor McDavid led the way to help the Oilers win three straight and advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Everything went wrong in the first three games of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers fell behind 3–0 to the Florida Panthers, putting the odds completely against them. However, the offence exploded, and the Oilers scored 18 goals in three games to tie up the series. Unfortunately, things did not go well in Game 7, but the team showed how much resilience pays off in the playoffs. The Oilers will look towards the star players of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to get the team back in the series against the Kings. Draisaitl led the NHL in goals scored while McDavid won the Conn Smythe last year. With how poor the goaltending has been, the Oilers only hope is to outscore the Kings. They can do this with Draisaitl and McDavid, but Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar have been just as good. Lineup decisions need to be made As the first round series continues, the Oilers will have to make lots of crucial lineup decisions. The biggest one is who will start in Game 4? It most likely will be Calvin Pickard who helped the Oilers get out of a slump in last year’s playoff run. In the end, Stuart Skinner remained the number one goalie in Edmonton. Will this happen again this year? Or has Calvin Pickard taken over in net? Some decisions will need to be made at forward. With Evander Kane returning to the lineup, Jeff Skinner has taken a seat once again. The 32-year-old made his playoff debut in Game 1, but has failed to remain in the lineup. Does he deserve another chance? Trent Frederic has not been as good as many expected for the Oilers. Maybe Jeff Skinner can take his place as he provided an assist along with five hits in Game 1. The loss of Mattias Ekholm has damaged the Oilers blueline. Josh Brown was in the lineup for Game 1, but was a total liability in the defensive zone. John Klingberg entered the lineup in Game 2, providing an assist on Leon Draisaitl’s goal. His experience alone is much more of an asset for the Oilers because he brings 65 playoff games to the table, including a Stanley Cup Final run in 2020 with the Dallas Stars. The team must continue to dress the best team possible. Do you think the Oilers resilience pays off in the long run? Or will they be a first-round exit?