It was probably worth the wait, eh Edmonton?

After a dispiriting 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 1, in which the Oilers were outshot 34-9 in the game's final 43 minutes and change, and 44-19 overall, all eyes were on Rogers Place on Friday night to see how Edmonton would respond.

Well, we've got our answer. The Oilers are not going to be pushovers this spring.

Here's everything that went right for Edmonton, which simply returned the favor, in Game 2:

• A 2-0 win, first and foremost, the series now tied 1-1 heading to California.
• A playoff win in Edmonton, much to the delight of the home crowd, which waited oh so very long for Friday night.
• A shutout for Cam Talbot, though he only had to make 16 saves.
• Connor McDavid's first career playoff goal.
• Zack Kassian's first career playoff goal.
• Kassian's two devastating body checks.
• A 36-16 Oilers advantage on the shot clock. The Sharks didn't put more than six pucks on Talbot in any period, and were outshot 15-4 in the third, which they entered trailing by only a goal.
• A perfect night on the penalty kill, 6-for-6, which makes the final shot clock that much more impressive.
• A 41-21 Oilers edge in hits, and, let's be honest, it's unfair that Kassian's two thunderous ones count as only one each.
• A 16-6 Edmonton advantage in takeaways.

The Oilers dominated, in every way. Orange Crush, indeed. And McDavid is yet to dominate like he can, like he eventually will.

(Only one thing went wrong for the Oilers on Friday night: Oscar Klefbom blocked a Brent Burns shot in the third period and limped off to the dressing room. But, hey, injuries are a part of the playoffs. Ask the Sharks, who have played two games without Joe Thornton.)

As impressive as Edmonton's season has been, it wouldn't have been shocking for the young, inexperienced Oilers to go down 2-0 to the Sharks, last year's Stanley Cup finalists. But the Oilers assured San Jose, and the rest of the NHL, that they're not happy simply being at the dance. They're going to get down, have some fun. And, let's face, the playoffs are better for it.

Seven games, anyone?

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The first of very, very many.

Connor McDavid scored his first career NHL playoff goal Friday night, going five-hole on Martin Jones after streaking down the left wing from his own zone, as only No. 97 can.

Oh, and it was a shorthanded goal, the Edmonton Oilers' second while down a man in Game 2.

The Oilers beat the Sharks 2-0, sending the series to San Jose tied 1-1.

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Holy Zack Kassian.

Here's what we know: The guy loves 8:30 p.m. local starts. And he can hit.

Kassian scored a shorthanded goal Friday night, his first career playoff marker, but the Edmonton Oilers' forward also had the San Jose Sharks on alert after two thunderous hits in Game 2.

Brenden Dillon was Kassian's first victim, and Logan Couture was next.

The crowd was chanting Kassian's name after he ruined Couture. Nothing is impossible.

Edmonton had a 33-10 hits advantage after 40 minutes, with Kassian accounting for five of them.

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Zack Kassian came to play Friday night.

The Edmonton Oilers pest showed some seldom-seen offensive touch, breaking free while killing a penalty, taking a feed from Mark Letestu, and burying the opening goal of Game 2 against the San Jose Sharks.

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Déjà vu.

That's what Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau must be experiencing after watching his club drop the first two games of a series with the St. Louis Blues on home ice.

The series is far from over, of course, as evidenced by St. Louis winning each game by a one-goal margin. At the same time, however, it's a road Boudreau has gone down before, and never with a happy ending.

During his time with both the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks, Boudreau guided his teams to wildly successful regular seasons, finishing atop the division in eight of his nine years behind the bench prior to arriving in Minnesota. In fact, among coaches with at least 200 career games, Boudreau's winning percentage ranks second all time, according to Hockey Reference.

For his efforts, Boudreau has seen his teams advance to the Conference Finals only once (2015 Ducks), with first- and second-round exits more the norm. After Friday's loss to the Blues, Boudreau's all-time playoff coaching record stands at 41-41, a .500 record in a regular season's worth of games.

The Wild finished second in the Central Division this season and entered the playoffs as a decent bet to at least win a round and perhaps challenge for the Western Conference title. After two games, however, further disappointment looms large.

For now, Boudreau's holding onto the belief his team can turn things around.

"Both games could have gone either way," he said after Game 2, per Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press. "I don't see any reason we can't go in there and do the same to them as they did to us."

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The St. Louis Blues are heading home with a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Wild.

This courtesy of Jaden Schwartz, whose superb wrist shot beat Devan Dubnyk late in the third period to give his team a lead that would not be relinquished.

The Blues, of course, took Game 1 with an overtime winner off the stick of Joel Edmundson.

The goal was Schwartz's second career playoff game-winner.

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All for not.

Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers were 18 seconds away from a 2-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens.

Tomas Plekanec's game-tying goal forced overtime, where Alexander Radulov won it for Montreal, tying up the series 1-1 as it shifts to Manhattan. And the OT winner wasted a superhuman effort from The King.

Lundqvist made a career playoff-high 54 saves through almost four periods of hockey, keeping the Rangers alive until Montreal finally struck. His previous career-best postseason mark was 49 saves in an overtime loss in April 2011 to the Washington Capitals.

New York was outshot 49-29 through periods two, three, and 18:34 of extra time. Lundqvist was sensational, and this after a shutout in Game 1.

The Rangers have taken home ice, but they'll no doubt be wondering what could have been after Lundqvist stopped 85 of 89 shots in two games.

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The Montreal Canadiens won't be heading to the Big Apple down 2-0 to the New York Rangers.

Alex Radulov banged in a rebound for the winner in overtime to give the Canadiens a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Rangers on Friday night, knotting the series at 1-1.

Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec tied the game with just over 17 seconds left in regulation, scoring the latest playoff equalizer in franchise history, and Radulov won it with less than 90 seconds remaining in the first overtime period.

Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

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