Waking Up With The Edmonton Oilers- Oilers Hope For Game 2 Bounce Back

After a weak performance on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers need to come out and play a much better game. As much as there would still be time for the Oilers to come back, being down 2-0 is not a place the Oilers want to be against this Vancouver Canucks team. The good news for the Oilers is that they can play much better than they did in game 1.

There are a couple of concerns for the Edmonton Oilers and that is the health of a couple of their top players. Adam Henrique already missed game one and it looks like he will be missing game two as well. Even more important is the health of Leon Draisaitl. After missing some of that second period in game one he did not skate yesterday.

The Oilers' chance for a win declines steeply if there is no Draisaitl in the lineup. If that is the case though the Oilers can't use it as an excuse. With it being the playoffs though I would expect Draisaitl to be in the lineup considering his history. During the playoffs two seasons ago Draisaitl played basically on one leg as he had a sprained ankle.

Another area the Oilers need to be better is on their own end. They gave up too many goals, there were a couple that you can hang on Skinner and some that can be blamed on the defense. Either these were caused by the Oilers being rusty from being off for a week or that they just weren't mentally ready, it doesn't matter. These issues need to be fixed.

Coming back to Rogers Place with the series tied 1-1 will have the fans much louder than they would be being down 2-0. I think that this game tonight is very important for both the players and the fans of the Oilers. A win and the momentum that the Oilers get heading home could be enough to prep them for a sweep in Edmonton, a loss could demoralize this team and cause a downward spiral.