A Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on home ice is undoubtedly a disappointment for the Edmonton Oilers, but there may still be a silver lining: Dylan Holloway scored not one, but two playoff goals, including the marker to send the rivals to overtime on Wednesday.
His first goal came halfway through the second period to pull the home team within one of the Kings. Sam Carrick found Holloway right in the slot and he wasted no time sending it high glove side on former Oiler Cam Talbot.
His second, which evened the score at 4-4, came early in the third and right after the Kings had scored the go-ahead goal. Fed by Mattias Janmark — who also assisted on the first goal — Holloway sniped the puck at the right faceoff dot over Talbot’s shoulder once more.
“He’s always had it, it’s just been a matter of him finding it himself,” teammate Mattias Ekholm said to reporters after the game. “He’s in a great spot right now, he’s playing well.
“He’s not thinking out there — you can tell the difference, just the time I’ve been here at the beginning, I thought he was thinking maybe a little bit too much. But now, he’s trusting his instincts. He’s got a heck of a shot and he showed it twice tonight.”
“Feeling confident,” Holloway, 22, said post-game. “Playing with Janny (Janmark) and Sammy (Carrick), they’re two great players and they’re making some nice plays, making it easy for me. Credit to them and credit to our team for being so resilient, but ultimately we didn’t get the win, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Holloway was recalled from the Bakersfield Condors at the beginning of April after spending a chunk of time in the AHL to regain his confidence. The 2020 first-round pick (14th overall) had 10 goals and 16 points in 18 games for the Condors. In the eight games with the big club since his recall, the Calgary native has five goals and two assists.
In total on Wednesday, the Oilers’ fourth line of Holloway, Carrick and Janmark combined for five points on the evening and formed Edmonton’s most productive line at five-on-five.
Holloway and the Oilers will head to Los Angeles to face the Kings on their turf in Game 3. Watch the action on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.