Leading 1-0 in a playoff series isn’t exactly uncharted territory for the Edmonton Oilers, but they might have to call up Google Maps just to make sure they don’t get lost.

A team that makes its living from crawling out of holes could maybe use a little guidance now that they aren’t in one. For just the fourth time in 15 playoff series in the Connor McDavid era, they aren’t trailing 1-0.

“It’s kind of new for us, we don’t usually find ourselves in this spot,” said the Oilers captain, whose team looked as good as it has all year in Tuesday’s rare, series-opening win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

“A big one Thursday, really, really big. I expect Vegas to raise their level. We need to match that. It would be huge to come away from here with two wins. Big one Thursday.”

In other words, Thursday is big. Going up 2-0 by taking the first two games on the road doesn’t mean Edmonton is going to win the series, but… OK, it kind of does.

True, Edmonton just came back from 2-0 down to Los Angeles, and Vegas just came back from 2-1 down to the Minnesota Wild, but this feels different.

If the Oilers play well enough to beat the Knights twice on their own ice, with everything that’s at stake in Game 2, there is no reason to think they won’t be able to finish the job.

Of course, doing the math is a lot easier than winning the game. The Golden Knights are made of championship stock, just two years removed from a Stanley Cup. They know a thing or two about winning, if there was ever a question.

So, while the Oilers realize this is a, um, golden opportunity, they also understand they’ll be face-to-face with a hungry, heavy, battle-proven winner that isn’t going to let this series get away from them without a fight.

They know exactly what to expect from a team that’s down 1-0 in the series because they’re usually that team.

“When we were down two games in the L.A. series we had to get desperate,” said Oilers forward Connor Brown, who has four goals in Edmonton’s five-straight wins since.

“So it’s important for us now that we have the lead to continue to play with that desperation and with that high engine we’ve been playing with and keep our foot on the pedal.”

This is where a team’s killer instinct becomes so important. Even if they lose, the Oilers still come out of Vegas with a split, so they’ve got some insurance in the bank before the game even starts. They will need to manufacture the same urgency that will be coming naturally to the Golden Knights. That’s not always easy.

“This next game is going to be the toughest,” said Brown. “They’re a veteran group, they’re not really going to give you anything. They’re not going to make any egregious turnovers. It’s important to just stay patient with their team, continue to hound, continue to roll the lines, keep the tempo up. We expect their best next game.”

That high engine Brown is taking about is running hotter by the day. The Oilers evolved into an entirely different team than they were in the first two games of the playoffs. They’re a different team than they’ve been all season, so there is plenty for the Golden Knights to be concerned about, too.

“It’s a byproduct of us not getting a ton of reps together coming down the stretch,” said McDavid. “Guys not necessarily being fully healthy to start. Our game is just building. I know that’s weird to say in the middle of the playoffs but when you don’t have a ton of runway with a group coming down the stretch, we’re putting the pieces together and building our game as we go.

“You’re seeing it get better and better and I expect to continue seeing it get better and better.”

Same goes for the series.

In one corner you’ve got a desperate former champion with home ice advantage that absolutely cannot afford to lose this game and in the other you have a 2024 Stanley Cup finalist that looks as good right now as it did last spring. And it can smell blood.

These two rivals trying to impose their will on each other Thursday night will make for some compelling theatre.

“From game to game momentum always changes, it changes as soon as that puck is dropped,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who is well aware that anything less than Edmonton’s best will have them flying home with a 1-1 split.

“We know Vegas is going to be a lot better and stronger and they’ll have some adjustments that are going to counter some things that we were doing. We just have to be prepared and play with the same urgency that we had the other night.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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