There is a scene in the zombie movie Dawn of the Dead where Sarah Polley and her friends, panting and soaked in blood after tangling with the undead, escape to an elevator, unsure what’s waiting for them on the top floor.
With an unprecedented three days between games (thanks to the NBA playoffs eating up arena dates in Los Angeles), the Pacific Division rivals must holster their weapons, tend their wounds and wait for the chaos to resume Saturday.
And it also might let the Kings off the hook.
They just took a couple of very serious body blows, giving up a 3-0 lead at home in Game 4 and getting stuffed in a locker for 60 minutes in Game 5. They are on wobbly legs, so shutting things dow for three days can only help.
They might have just been saved by the bell.
For the Oilers, who are up 3-2 and one win away from closing out the series, this is like being iced before the game-winning field goal attempt. The league is calling a time out to let them think about it.
The momentum and energy that just blew the roof off Rogers Place on Tuesday is gone, or at least left to simmer on a back burner until Saturday.
“Our schedule is what the schedule is and one team is going to handle it better,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “It’s our aspiration to be the team that handles it better.
“There are positives to this schedule. The first thing is it allows you to refill the cup and nurse some bumps and bruises, but the other team gets that opportunity as well. It’s who handles it better.”
The only comparable this season came after the All-Star game/bye week in February. The Oilers were 7-0-1 going into the 9-day hiatus and were 2-1-4 coming out of it.
“We’re not a team full of 19-, 20- and 21-year olds,” said Woodcroft, adding if this was three or four years ago and the core of the team hadn’t been through the post-season rigours yet, these three days could be a problem, but they’re beyond that now.
“With where we’re at in the life stage of our team, we have a group that’s able to compartmentalize things, they’re mature. We know where we’re at in the season.
If you believe that the Oilers aren’t on a hot streak, that they’ve been getting stronger by the game and have found their playoff footing, there is nothing to worry about. Sustaining their confidence and momentum and summoning the same stuff in Game 6 that they did in Game 5 shouldn’t be a problem. It’s who they are now.
That’s where Woodcroft thinks his team is at as it rides the quiet elevator for a few days.
“After three games we were down 2-1 but we liked a lot of our series,” he said. “That’s why it’s a series; things add up over time. Our patience, our persistence, our stick-to-it-iveness … we use the theme of continuing to hammer on the rock until it splits. It hasn’t split yet but we’re looking for that fourth win.”
“You know the Kings are going to come out hard, their backs are against the wall,” he said. “It’s going to be a tight-checking game. We just have to make sure we’re ready for that.”
SKINNER SURVIVES HOOK
Oilers fan exhaled Tuesday when Stuart Skinner responded to his first-intermission hook in Game 4 with a strong bounceback game Tuesday. It wasn’t an easy setback for a 24-year-old rookie to rebound from but he was strong from start to finish.
“Yeah, but we knew that was going to happen,” said Draisaitl. “He’s mature beyond his years. Great game for him.”
“He went to the All Star Game this year, he’s not a fluke,” added Zach Hyman. “He’s proven he’s capable of being that guy. There was no doubt in the locker room he’d bounce back.”
