Oilers no match for hungrier Kings through two games
After three straight exits at the hands of the Oilers, you don’t need a degree in hockey to see who wants this series more. The Kings are hungry, while the Oilers just can’t match the energy of their more desperate opponent.
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LOS ANGELES — Let’s face it. Other than a McMiracle in Game 1, this series hasn’t been close.
The Los Angeles Kings are faster, harder, worlds better defensively and more opportunistic on offence. And they have better goaltending, though if you swapped out the ‘tendies in this series, the Kings would still be heading up to Edmonton with a 2-0 series lead, we’d wager.
After having been sent into their summer by these Oilers for three straight years, you can see it in the Kings’ play. They’re hungrier.
“We have a hunger to win as well, but we have to ramp it up, we have to dig in,” said Leon Draisaitl, whose team got smoked 6-2 on Wednesday night in L.A. “We have to start playing here. Obviously it hasn’t been good enough.
“There is hunger on their side, of course. You can sense that. But it’s not anything we’re not able to match. We just have to find it and we have to find it quick.”
The Oilers have hemorrhaged scoring chances in this series, allowing 12 goals — five on the power play — in two games.
The quality of chances being surrendered is astounding, whether it’s an unattended Quinton Byfield roofing a puck from the top of the crease, or Adrian Kempe with scads of time to pick his spot from 15 feet out.
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The Kings’ power play has ventilated the Oilers’ penalty kill, going 5-for-10 in the series, while the Oilers have been outscored 7-0 on aggregate in the opening 30 minutes of both games.
It’s All the Kings Men against the Boys on the Bus, and the results aren’t pretty.
“You don’t have much chance to win if you’re giving up, maybe, three goals,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who forgot to say, ‘let alone six.’ “Ideally, it’s two or less — especially against a team that’s very good defensively.”
Special teams has been a tragedy for Edmonton, whose power play is 0-for-5. That simply has to change.
“Absolutely,” Knoblauch said. “If we are to have an opportunity to turn this thing around, it’s special teams.”
Calvin Pickard relieved Stuart Skinner with 9:30 to play, a mercy pull that serves as a tell that Pickard may be the Oilers’ Game 3 starter. But the quality of chances allowed by Edmonton left Skinner with an impossible task, and even Pickard’s first shot was a scoring snipe from Kempe, all alone from about eight feet out, with as much time as he felt he needed to pick a spot.
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If the game plan is to have your goalie stop the kind of chances the Oilers surrendered in Game 2, then pull out the golf clubs, folks. Sure, Skinner could have stolen a game — which he doesn’t do often enough — but going through the goals, not one wouldn’t have been a ten-bell save, had it been stopped.
“No team in this league can give up the amount of Grade A’s and high-danger chances that we’ve been giving up (and still win),” said assistant captain Darnell Nurse. “We’ve been hanging our goalie out to dry.”
“What do you want them to do?” said Perry, when asked about the goalies. “Two-on-ones, the Byfield goal — it’s not (Skinner’s) fault. He’s making good saves, playing hard and battling for us. It’s the play in front of him.”
The Kings owned the net front at Edmonton’s end, and built a wall in front of goalie Darcy Kuemper in the Kings’ crease.
In short, after three straight exits at the hands of the Oilers, you don’t need a degree in hockey to see who wants this series more. The Kings are hungry, while the Oilers just can’t match — or sustain — the energy of their more desperate opponent.
“They’re hungry to beat us. But there’s a hunger in this group too,” Nurse said. “We’ve got to raise our level, come to another level, especially Friday.
“(We’re) a pissed off group.”
Evander Kane played his first game in over 10 months. He was just fine, though not particularly noticeable, with a shot on net, no points and one minor penalty. Fellow injury mate Trent Frederic played the second game of his return, and he, too, has yet to find a foothold or influence the game to any degree.
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On Thursday, the Oilers fly home knowing that their season hinges on Game 3. Another solid thrashing by L.A., and it won’t just be the Kings who believe they can’t lose to these Oilers.
Quietly, that sentiment may permeate the Edmonton locker room as well.
“They protected home ice,” reasoned Perry. “I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do: Protect home ice. We came here to steal a game, didn’t happen, now we go home and we protect our ice.”
Have we reached must-win territory Friday night in Edmonton?
Perry paused.
“It’s pretty obvious…”
