Oilers' Darnell Nurse "pissed off" after Game 2 loss, defends Stuart Skinner

The Edmonton Oilers are frustrated after dropping the first two games of their playoff series. In his postgame interview on Wednesday, defenseman Darnell Nurse didn’t hold back, saying the team is “pissed off” and hasn’t played to its standards.

The Oilers allowed six goals in each game against the LA Kings, and Wednesday’s 6-2 loss pointed to deeper problems.

"Pissed off, obviously. Going down two — as we should be," Nurse said (0:02). "Haven’t played to the standard level that we're capable of playing at, to a man, to our group. So yeah, it's a pissed-off group, and we got to go home and take care of business on home ice."

When asked about goaltender Stuart Skinner, Nurse admitted that they need to defend better.

"In this group, we all look ourselves in the mirror," Nurse said (01:19). "We got to be better in front of him. Simple as that."

Skinner has allowed 11 goals on 58 shots, but many of them have come after defensive breakdowns.

Edmonton also struggled on special teams. Its power play has gone 0-for-5, and its penalty kill has allowed five goals on 10 chances. This is a major drop-off from last year’s playoff series against the Kings, when the Oilers' power play scored at a 45% rate, and the penalty kill was perfect.

Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch's reaction to Game 2 loss

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch also pointed to special teams as the key area that must improve. He said that the LA Kings’ five-forward power-play setup has created big problems, and the Oilers can’t afford to give up power-play goals at this pace.

“If we (want) an opportunity to turn this thing around, it’s special teams,” Knoblauch said on Wednesday, via The Athletic.

Edmonton’s power play didn’t offer much either. Zach Hyman had the best chance in Game 2, but Darcy Kuemper made a strong save.

Skinner was pulled in the third period after five goals against. Calvin Pickard replaced him but allowed a goal on his first shot faced. The Oilers might consider starting Pickard in Game 3; however, unless the team improves overall, the goalie change won’t matter.

The top line of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry tried to create offense, but they only broke even at five-on-five. The second line, which included Evander Kane, also didn’t contribute much as Kane looked rusty in his return and took a penalty that led to a Kings goal.

Down 0-2 in the series, Edmonton heads home needing a big response in Game 3.