With Game 1 in the books across the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, eight teams are officially three games closer to elimination. 

Okay, that’s a dramatic way of putting it. Losing Game 1 isn’t a death sentence. Look back to last year: the Panthers, Rangers, and Oilers all lost their opening game of the postseason and still advanced to Round 2. But anytime the stakes are this high, it’s worth considering what levels, if any, of concern there should be after a loss. 

This year’s Game 1s have brought some intrigue. Two games have required overtime (with one going to double), there have been controversial hits and a suspension is likely incoming. What’s also noteworthy is that the higher seed has lost six out of eight times so far.

So where should there be concern?

That’s what we’re here to measure after two days of postseason chaos.

Edmonton Oilers

Concern-o-meter: 1/10  

The Oilers are in familiar territory, down 1-0 to the underdog Kings to open the postseason. Los Angeles is a much better team than they were last year, especially after their deadline moves, and they’re getting healthier. Edmonton probably could have wanted to capitalize while their opponent is short-handed, now that Gabriel Vilardi is coming back in Game 2. But they didn’t, it’s not the end of the world. 

If there were any problems, it was the Oilers’ play in the third period. They just have to keep the pressure on with a lead a bit better and try not to get passive, stay disciplined, and make the right deployment decisions. 

The one edge that the Oilers really had in Game 1 and won’t when the series shifts to Los Angeles is the matchup game. But Connor McDavid spent most of his time against Phillip Danault and won that battle handily, with a 71.6 percent expected goals rate in their head-to-head five-on-five minutes. Leon Draisaitl saw a heavy dose of Anze Kopitar and did fine, too. If Edmonton can keep that up and take the win in Game 2, they should be able to shrug off the Game 1 loss. 

Colorado Avalanche

Concern-o-meter: 2/10

This isn’t to shortchange the Kraken. This is legitimately a fascinating series that’s going to test Colorado’s star power against Seattle’s depth. But the Avalanche shouldn’t panic just yet because they lost Game 1, even though it was on home ice. 

The worry should be that depth players in Seattle were able to contain some of Colorado’s star power. Yanni Gourde, someone who also Knows What It Takes, put in the work to limit Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen as much as possible. The worry could also be that there are some defensive depth concerns at the bottom of the blue line. Or that there’s a motivated goalie with a revenge element in Philipp Grubauer, who saved 2.52 goals above expected. Or that this team looked sloppy through 40 minutes of play. But Colorado started to battle back in the third, and that’s something they can try to carry into Game 2 — a response in the next meeting is essential. 

If any team knows how to adapt and adjust, it’s the Avalanche. Sure, this team is short-handed after Gabriel Landeskog didn’t return and that should have been the key to elevating their 2C situation. But simultaneously keep the red flags down for now, and don’t underestimate what a disruptor like Seattle can do.