The Los Angeles Kings are essentially trying to match their latest performance when they hit the road for Wednesday’s do-or-die meeting with the host Edmonton Oilers.
However, they will be seeking a different result as they attempt to stay alive in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Los Angeles trails 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but it may have at least found a template for success during Sunday’s 1-0 setback.
The Kings were the better team in many ways. They surrendered only 13 shots on goal — holding Connor McDavid to just one and Leon Draisaitl to two — while firing 33 on the other net. In addition, Los Angeles often had momentum, limited turnovers and showed an effective forecheck.
The lone blemish? Evan Bouchard’s power-play goal in the second period.
“It’s the kind of game you have to replicate every single game,” Kings forward Phillip Danault said. “That’s the only way you can win against Edmonton right now. We have to play the same exact way.”
But it’s not all good vibrations for Los Angeles, which has scored only one goal in the past two games and is on the verge of being eliminated by the Oilers for the third consecutive year. Still, the Kings have some reasons to believe a comeback is possible.
“We played as well as we did in a long, long time,” Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller said. “What do we do, we just go and play that game again. … We’ve got a game that can beat them going back into Edmonton.”
The Oilers, with the opportunity to reach the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, return to Edmonton with a chance to clinch the series on home ice.
However, they are well aware that a performance similar to Sunday’s likely won’t be enough to get them past the Kings once again.
“You know L.A.’s going to come out hard, especially with what they’re facing right now,” Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner said Tuesday. “As a group, we’ve just got to make sure that we’re ready for tomorrow night. It’s going to be a game that we’ve got to definitely make sure that we’re prepared for.”
Among the keys for Edmonton will be to dictate more of the play. In Game 4, the Kings did a masterful job of holding the Oilers in check, something the hosts don’t want to happen again on Wednesday.
“We want to attack a little more. That’s our game,” Draisaitl said. “But you’ve got to win games (1-0), too, in the playoffs. We’re not the first team to win a game by not firing a lot of shots and defending a lot. There’s nothing wrong with the way that game went. We have to get on our toes a bit more and attack a little bit more, again. Present them with more of a challenge.”
On top of being within one win of finishing out a series, the Oilers have another reason to be confident: their ability to eliminate the Kings in each of the past two seasons.
“Obviously, we were able to go through that experience last year,” Skinner said. “This year is going to be, I would imagine, a much different experience, just like how it already has been through the series.
“So, it’s definitely something to note, that we are a team that knows how to win.”
–Field Level Media
