“They obviously took advantage of a couple little breaks here and there, and our power play got a few before big-time goals by Connor and Leon,” he said. “Sometimes, when it is that tight, it’s tiny little breakdowns that end up being the difference.
“I’ve seen it all year watching the team, just the way that they battle and compete no matter what the score is and what the time of the game is. I thought the way that we came on the third and had a really good pushback down two goals against that team was hard to do, so it’s fun to be a part of it and just definitely glad to be back out there.”
But there were no surprises when it comes to the Stanley Cup champs, and the Oilers faced plenty of challenges, met them head-on, and came away with a valuable win that will resonate with how they want to play as a unit moving forward.
For Babcock, early on is the best time to face adversity so it can build you & your game up for the rest of the regular season, and Thursday’s lessons will prove to be valuable.
“We just didn’t win enough battles,” Babcock said. “The game’s so simple, and Carolina plays it simpler than anyone else. They’re not tricking you. They’re not doing anything fancy. They get it out, they get it in, they get all over you, catch you from behind, and then they do it again shift after shift.
“But I thought this was the best opportunity for our team to play them tonight. For me, it was like a gift, and what I mean by that is we got a lot of lessons there today that we can build off. We have to learn to be way more resilient. When we bend, we can’t break like that. You just gotta hang in there.”