At gut-check time, what separates the Oilers from the Leafs and Jets?
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When you're a goalie who has a couple of bad playoff starts in a row, loses the starting job and the entire world seems like it's crashing down on you, how do you not curl up in a ball and wait for the noise to stop?
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When you're down by two goals, half a period away from falling behind 3-1 in your series with the L.A. Kings, how do you not get flustered and let it all slip away?
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The Oilers scored twice in the third period to tie it, won it in overtime and didn't lose another game to the Kings.
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Edmonton outshot the Knights 15-5 in the first period of Game 4, took a 2-0 lead and didn't allow another Vegas goal the rest of the series.
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When people talk about a playoff-hardened hockey team, this is what they mean.
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Back in the Western Conference Final for the third time in four years, the Oilers have evolved from the young, inexperienced lions of the past into the scarred, battled-tested team you see today.
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'We have that maturity level,' said Skinner, who's become a poster-boy for mental toughness. 'We've been here before, we know what to do, we know what to expect. Whatever comes your way, there is a lot less chance of you getting rattled.'
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The Oilers kept their calm and pushed through the aforementioned adversity because they've seen it all before. Skinner lost the job last year and recovered wonderfully, so he knew he could do it again. So did his teammates.
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The Oilers trailed in games, and in series, last year, and the year before, and the year before, so they know what formula works and what doesn't.
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When you come back from 3-0 down in the Stanley Cup Final to force a Game 7, there isn't much anyone can throw at you that's going to weaken your knees.
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'Experience has so much to do with going forward and being able to find ways to win,' said Skinner. 'We have a veteran team, guys who've won the Cup, guys who've been to the finals, guys who've played a long time. It gives us a huge advantage.'
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The Oilers were on the other side of the composure scale back in the early days of this group's evolution. They were the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs all rolled into one — rock stars in the regular season, raising everyone's expectations for the playoffs, and getting mowed down in the first round in back-to-back years.
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