Corey Perry leads Oilers in team meeting after blown lead in game one
The Edmonton Oilers looked like they were going to handle the Canucks easily in game one, only to be humiliated by a blowing a 4-1 lead. After the game, Corey Perry said he stepped up to lead a team meeting.
As one of the most respected veterans on the team and a legendary NHL player, Perry recognized that moment after the game as an opportunity to speak up to the team, pleading the Oilers to get their act together.
I'm not going to get into it, but there's a few things ��two minutes, maybe ��last night after the game that we talked about. Then we moved on and everybody knows what that message means and what that message is. It's not about what guys say to each other. It's more about what they do, how they act, how they play.»
-Corey Perry
-Corey Perry
In an interview with Mark Spector, Perry recounted the moments after the blown lead in game one, and a brief team meeting afterwards. Perry didn't want to get into the message of the meeting and pay too much lip service - the fact of the matter is, they need to just go execute their game at the best level they can, and they should win.
What the Oilers need to fix after their blown lead in game one
The Oilers scored 4 goals in game one quickly, jumping on Arturs Silovs enough that the Canucks may have considered pulling him for DeSmith in the second period. Instead of keeping up the offence, the Oilers barely mustered any shots in the rookie goalie, and the Canucks stormed back.
After the game, Connor McDavid explained the Oilers as playing too passively while trying to defend their lead. The loss of Leon Draisaitl in the second period affected the momentum, but the Oilers need to test Silovs much more often in the rest of this series. It's critical that the Oilers offence can eat this rookie goaltender and give them a series lead before Demko returns from injury.
Simply put, the Oilers did not bring their best effort in the back half of the game against the Canucks, and teams will make you pay for that in the second round of the playoffs. The Oilers need to come out tonight with their best effort of the season, get pucks through on Arturs Silovs, and play a full 60 minutes to get the split in Vancouver tonight.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Corey Perry is a good leader for the Oilers in a team meeting? | ||
| Yes, legendary player | 113 | 74.3 % |
| No, new to the team | 32 | 21.1 % |
| See Results | 7 | 4.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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