LOS ANGELES — There are games that the Edmonton Oilers have survived without the two-headed monster known as “McDrai.” But there are other opponents where the matchup just becomes all wrong.
The Oilers have proven over three consecutive playoff victories that they know the formula and have the horses to beat the Los Angeles Kings. But minus their two best studs — injured centres Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — the stingiest team in the NHL was almost impenetrable in a 3-0 win that gave the Kings a four-point bulge on Edmonton in the Pacific.
“Two of the best players in the world, and you take ‘em out of our lineup? They’re the best players for a reason,” shrugged veteran Corey Perry. “We had some chances. We just couldn’t sustain.”
Los Angeles is simply that good defensively, leading or placing top three in the NHL in a whole slew of defensive metrics. Breaking them down takes special talent, and McDavid and Draisaitl are exactly the special talents that have broken the Kings’ hearts three years in a row.
“They’re well-rehearsed, they play with structure,” Perry said. “We didn’t create a whole lot. When you do get that one chance, you’ve got to make it count.”
Including playoffs, the Oilers have lost in regulation just twice in their last 20 meetings with the Kings. Edmonton is 14-2-4
But this season, the Kings have an NHL-best 29-4-4 home record, a franchise record for points at home.
“The hardest thing in the league is to score goals and create offence, and they’re a team that doesn’t give you much,” reasoned Zach Hyman. “We’re missing a lot of offence.”
Neither Draisaitl nor McDavid are expected back for Monday’s game in Anaheim — nor Mattias Ekholm, or Stuart Skinner — a game that is expected to see goalie Olivier Rodrigue make his first NHL start. Not that Calvin Pickard needs the rest — this was the fourth consecutive start in which the Oilers backup allowed just two goals, with the Kings scoring an empty-netter late in Period 3.
In one of the lower-event games of the season, to our eye, Pickard stood his ground, allowing a rebound goal to Kevin Fiala (his 30th), while Andrei Kuzmenko beat the goalie with a cannon of a wrist shot, also in the middle frame.
The Oilers had been on a three-game heater, all without McDavid, Ekholm, Evander Kane and Skinner. But the buck stopped here in L.A., where these teams will reconvene in two weeks’ time, likely, to open Round 1 for the fourth consecutive post-season.
Funny enough, after replacing head coach Todd McLellan midway through last season with Jim Hiller — and then losing to Edmonton in five quick games — the Kings talked openly during the summer and fall about changing out their musty 1-3-1 defensive system in favour of some more free-flow hockey this year.
So, Kris Knoblauch, did you see a vastly different team in black and silver on Saturday afternoon?
“No, that team is almost identical,” the Oilers head coach said. “They’ve changed their neutral-zone (play) a little bit, but it’s almost the exact same. The pieces moved around a little bit, but it’s the same format.”
A couple of new pieces, but it’s the same ol’ chess board down here in L.A., where entertaining hockey comes to die. They want to beat you 2-0, and if you can’t get a lead on the Kings and force them to open up, chances are they will.
“They may not play the same neutral zone, but they’re the same team. Hard to play against, and always have been,” said Perry, who was an Anaheim Duck back when Daryl Sutter was winning Cups here in deadly boring fashion.
With a playoff meeting right around the corner, did Perry learn anything about these Kings?
“There’s not much to learn. You play them a few times in the playoffs, again in the regular season…,” he said. “They’re between the puck and the net, between you and the net. They box out well, play hard in the D zone. Give ’em credit. They play hard.”
“Chances weren’t a lot tonight, credit to them,” added Knoblauch, whose Oilers mustered 27 shots on net, and were generously awarded nine high-danger scoring chances by Natural Stat Trick. “Even with everyone in our lineup, it will still be difficult to generate chances because of the way they play.”
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The game marked winger Trent Frederic’s first twirl as an Oiler, and he gave his new club an injury scare after just six seconds.
Frederic started the game and immediately spoke to trainer T.D. Forss. Returning from a high ankle sprain, Frederic then took a spin during a TV timeout, flexing the leg he had injured while playing in Boston.
His next shift came at the 12:22 mark, but he played fairly regularly from that point on, finishing with 7:10 of ice time, a couple of hits, and a couple of scrums in the Kings’ crease after he hung around L.A. goalie Darcy Kuemper longer than the L.A. defencemen preferred.
“There was a little re-evaluation (of the ankle),” Knoblauch said. “But when he was on the ice, I loved his game. I like what he gives us: a little presence around the net; some feistiness. He was able to make some nice plays on the break-out.
“He’ll be a welcome addition to our team.”
Sure, but not as welcome as a couple of other guys we can think of.
