Los Angeles–Would the late-awakened beast known as Connor-Leon be alive two days after their near come-from-behind victory of Monday in Los Angeles? That’s the question people who filled the LA home of hockey had on Wednesday after the Kings won 6-5 in game one of the two teams’ playoff series.
Most of the first period of game two, the play was in the Kings’ end, though much of it was edge work, dipsy doodling near the boards. As they had done in the prior game, the Oilers passed the puck through the slot rather than taking shots presented to them. Monday night, that strategy had given way to a more direct approach which saw a game that was out of reach at 4-0 for LA dissolve into an eventual 5-5 tie before Phillip Danault scored a winning marker. Now with the calendar saying Wednesday, which team would attack first, having learned from what the Oilers did Monday?
If anything, the Kings sat back early in game two, but they still came out on the higher end of a 1-0 score in period one. This was a goal that came late on a power play, scored by Brandt Clarke as he came in with Warren Foegele passing out to the slot and the pinching defenseman angling his stick to redirect the puck behind Edmonton’s goalie, Stuart Skinner. Clarke later explained, “I saw there was a hole there, and I was strong on my stick, and just able to elevate the puck there.”
Period two featured the Kings’ second goal, scored when Quinton Byfield took the puck straight past Evan Bouchard and to the net, flipping it over Skinner. And their third, by newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko, his second of the playoffs, just past halfway through the period. Maybe the Kings were happy that this 3-0 advantage didn’t turn into 4-0, as had happened in the prior game, only for things to unravel.
That third goal came off a put-back after Kempe shot wide from the point and the puck bounced off the end boards. Funny enough, Kempe had been talking to Kuzmenko right before the faceoff. Was this a plan?
The Oilers got one back a few minutes later, a spot by Klingberg of Draisaitl low on the right side, a hard wrister to him for a redirect. The period would end 3-1. Draisaitl did the exact same play to another team mate shortly later, so this was no one-time phenomenon.
Period three saw two things: the emergence of Kopitar, and the scoring of yet another power play goal, making the Kings 5-9 in the series. (They would end at 5-10.) Kopitar put a puck out from the end boards after a lame clearing attempt by the Oilers, watching as Kempe scored, and then scored one himself to make the score 5-2. He later assisted on Kempe’s third goal of the series, this time a keeper by Kempe and a wrist shot at the Edmonton back-up goalie, Calvin Pickard, installed just before. So the final was 6-2.Kopitar figured in on each of the last four goals, as did Kempe. Each ended with four points.
After the game, Coach Jim Hiller was, clearly not sure whether to hide his happiness or quite how to do it. “I would say this is a great start for us. We scored goals down the stretch…. Power play got better after the trade deadline, so I would say that’s a good start. Be happy with that.”
When asked if he was at all surprised that the series has been this decisive over the first two games, he hesitated. “Ummm, I mean, we’ve played pretty well. We’ve finished pretty well…. I thought tonight we had some shots [inaudible] with the goaltender, and we beat him, so there’s some different things that go into it.”
He would add, “Overall, we’re playing some good, solid hockey, offensively, defensively, in all parts of the game.”
The teams now go back to Edmonton potentially to finish things and deny the LA crowd of a fifth, let alone a seventh, game. But what about the old saw, “It’s not over until the home team loses?” In classroom style, I throw out the word “discuss.”
Can the Kings actually win this series, and end the scourge of the Oilers beating them in the playoffs every year? Yes, if they do several things. Here’s a sampling of those.
First, they have to continue to play strong down the middle. They have three legit centermen in Kopitar, Danault, and Byfield. On Wednesday night, Byfield was the most noticeable of those early. He scored, as noted above, the second goal. Kopitar came on late, as described. Danault didn’t have a bad night, either, though his points production amounted to just one assist.
Second, they have to get continued good, if not great, goaltending from Darcy Kuemper. On Monday, he faded after holding the Kings in and enjoying an early lead. Wednesday, he was tested early, with a sharp shot from the low zone on the left side. It was a laser nearly on the ice, but he had to be quick with the pad to repel it. Other chances included a sharp leg save from the point in the second period. He was equal to most. His victory came on 24 saves. The Edmonton tandem made 23.
Third, and related to the goaltending point made above, they must continue to repel the Oilers’ passing-based attack. Their style, and they showed it over and over on Wednesday, is to spot a guy from up high and get the puck to him low for a redirect. They fling the pass with so much force that it’s impossible to stop. The redirection is almost always equal to a shot on goal taken directly, so speedy and powerful it is. The Kings can’t just hope that these will be stopped by Kuemper, but so far, so (mostly) good.
Part of this, of course, is the pressure the LA team is putting on Edmonton’s superstars, who played a lot against Danault’s line, who held Connor-Leon to just the single Draisaitl goal.
Fourth, the opposite point to the prior one: they must continue to make their own attack work. Theirs is mostly chippy shots from very close to the net. Often the puck comes out of a scrum. This has been an effective, if messy, plan. Imagine if your offense were mostly modeled on the play of Corey Perry, and you have the picture.
Fifth and finally, they can only help themselves by continuing to win the special teams battle. The Oilers ended the second game having gone 0-3 on the PP. They have not scored on the power play in the series. That’s where many of their goals any time of the year are scored, let alone in the playoffs. By contrast, the Kings aggregate to this point in the series is 5 of ten, as I mentioned above. That’s right—fifty percent on the power play. That’s not likely to be sustained, but even half that good would be above league average.
There are other points to be made, so keep your eye on this space as the series moves to Edmonton.
