That won’t feel like a problem for the players, with the majority of Edmonton’s roster having already been in these types of situations over previous playoff runs, knowing what home ice and a few corrections and changes to your approach can do for your group.
“I think the biggest thing that’s there is obviously the frustration, and you want to at least get one game, but to go down 2-0 is a tough spot to be in,” Kulak said. “But you know what? I think it’s just taking today, getting back home and resetting. We’ve got to come back with our best effort tomorrow and make a couple adjustments. They’re a good team. They’ve been playing well, but we’ve also showed signs that we can be betteri, and we believe that in the room.”
The Kings have been nearly unbeatable at home after improving to 33-6-4 this season with their wins in Games 1 & 2, but their road record wasn’t terrific in the regular season. Their .805 win percentage at home was the best in the NHL, but dropped to .476 away from Crypto.com Arena – a .329 difference.
They did however win their final three road games of regular season that included a 5-0 win on Apr. 14 over the Oilers at Rogers Place.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said the setting inside ICE District is better for his team to make some adjustments on special teams and build on some of the successes at even strength they experienced in the first two games of the series.
“We’re very optimistic going back to Edmonton and playing in front of our fans,” Knoblauch said. “Our building is something where obviously we feel more comfortable with playing at home anytime. But there are things that we can still improve going forward. We’re spending a lot of time in the offensive zone.
“The forecheck’s been good getting them to turn over pucks, but now it’s the next play, and they’re very a patient team and they’re okay with sitting back and waiting for us to lose focus or lose patience and then them taking advantage of it. So we have to stick with it and have the mentality of winning a 1-0 or 2-1 game And to do that, we’ll also have to have fewer kills.”
