The Los Angeles Kings took on the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday. Both teams had just clinched a playoff spot the previous weekend, but definitely still had things to play for in this matchup. This could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs, after meeting in the same round last season. This game had a lot of intrigue coming into it after the meeting last week, and here’s what we learned about the Kings and how they will potentially approach a playoff series against Edmonton.
Kings’ Defensive Structure is Effective Against Edmonton
Despite the Kings being an above-average team offensively, playing firewagon hockey against this version of the Oilers does not seem like a sound strategy. Instead, the Kings try to play a very structured game when they match up against Edmonton. They use a 1-3-1 defensive system, and utilize their strong two-way forwards to match up against Connor McDavid’s line specifically.
Phillip Danault got the assignment to match up against McDavid for most of the game. Danault is no stranger to playing against a team’s best player, as he was instrumental in doing just that when he was with the Montreal Canadiens and they made the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. The Kings have done a great job of slowing down McDavid in the season series, as he has just three of his 147 points against LA this season. This strategy was remarkably effective in the first period, as the Kings allowed just two shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.
Home ice advantage could be critical for the Kings in a series against the Oilers. They’ll want to have the last change to be able to dictate the matchups they want. Last season in their playoff series, home ice wasn’t a huge factor as both teams lost two of the seven games in their friendly confines. The difference this season could be Drew Doughty. He missed the series last year and left the Kings without a true defensive horse to ride on the blue line. The Kings will likely look to put him out there against McDavid as often as possible.
LA was able to hold Edmonton to just 1.78 expected goals at five-on-five, well below their season average per 60 minutes. The Kings will have to find a balance to this if they get this matchup in the playoffs, as they have failed to create a lot of scoring chances for themselves in these past two games against the Oilers. These games have been tight-checking affairs, but it would be beneficial for the Kings to play with the puck more often in future games against Edmonton.
Oilers Able to Solve Kings’ Penalty Kill
The Kings have not been a good team while shorthanded this season. They ranked 23rd in the NHL coming into the game in penalty kill success rate. When you face off against the Oilers and their historic power play, struggling on the penalty kill is a recipe for disaster. Somehow, it hasn’t hurt the Kings too much against Edmonton this season, until Tuesday.
Related: Kings Depth and Power Play Leading to Offensive Success
The Oilers had not scored in nine power play opportunities against the Kings prior to this game. They were finally able to break through, scoring a goal on their third power play of the game. They might leave with a bad taste in their mouth with Edmonton scoring the winning goal on the PP, but they had done a better job at defending this juggernaut of a power play than most teams.
The Oilers were able to prevent clearances and find passing lanes on their last two man-advantages of the night to put the puck in the net. Giving a team that’s this deadly on the power play four opportunities in a game is not a strategy the Kings will want to deploy in the playoffs. It’s especially frustrating in a game like this one where they were able to hold them to zero goals at five-on-five.
“Our special teams have to be better against theirs,” coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “Our penalty kill did a pretty good job, but both of their goals were on clearing attempts where we weren’t successful and 32% or 35% power plays make you pay for that, and they did tonight”.
Kings in Scoring Slump
On March 26, the Kings won a crazy game 7-6 over the St. Louis Blues. Earlier in the week, they had put up eight goals against the Calgary Flames. They had looked like an offensive powerhouse that was going to be tough for any team to slow down. Then they hit the road and things were different. They scored eight goals in four road games, and only scored one at home last night.
The power play has struggled of late, despite being a strength for most of the season. They didn’t score in four attempts last night and have gone 1/12 with the man advantage in this five-game stretch. The team has been without Gabriel Vilardi for all five of these games, and Kevin Fiala has missed both of the recent matchups against Edmonton. These are two key components of the power play’s success, but the coach didn’t want to blame the absence of these guys for the struggles on the PP.
“It’s not a lack of personnel we just didn’t execute well,” McLellan explained about his power play units. “The lesson we learned last year is that it doesn’t matter who’s out, it matters who’s in.”
The Kings have created a decent amount of expected goals in these five games, so it shouldn’t be a long-term concern. Despite what McLellan says, I’m sure he would prefer if Fiala and Vilardi were in the lineup. They are both good finishers, and help the team’s power play out a ton. With four games left in the season, they have enough time to get out of this funk before the playoffs start.
Game Sets Up Potentially Intriguing Playoff Matchup
Right now, the Kings and Oilers would meet in the playoffs again, with Edmonton having home-ice advantage. These two teams displayed some bad blood throughout the last two games. When you add that to the different styles that each team plays, this could be one of the most interesting matchups in Round 1 we see this season.
