If Game 1 between the Edmonton Oilers and LA Kings is any indication of what’s to come in this Round 1 series, this will be an incredible series. The Oilers were outclassed through the opening 40 minutes, trailing 4-1 heading into the final frame.
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As we have seen the Oilers do many times in the past, however, they stormed back in the third and tied the game at 5-5. It wouldn’t matter in the end, though, as Kings forward Phillip Danault netted the game-winning goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation. With that said, here are the three main takeaways from a hectic but fun opening game.
Skinner’s Struggles Continue
Blaming the loss on goaltender Stuart Skinner wouldn’t be fair. The Oilers’ netminder made some big saves, particularly when his team was killing a 5-on-3 midway through the third period. There were a few squeakers that got by him, however, and he was unable to lead his team to victory on a night when they spotted him five goals.
Skinner allowed six goals on 30 shots, which isn’t good enough. He didn’t have a very good 2024-25 season and struggled in his last several starts, so there isn’t much reason to believe he will turn this around. Should he falter again in Game 2, the Oilers may have to turn to Calvin Pickard.
Bouchard Has Night to Forget
While Skinner wasn’t great in this one, the Oilers’ worst player was Evan Bouchard. The 25-year-old, who didn’t have the best regular season, had one of his worst showings last night. Though the box score showed he had three assists and a plus/minus of plus-1 in Game 1, the Kings exploited his weaknesses.
Bouchard had several ugly turnovers and was caught out of position several times in the defensive zone. He is not expected to be great defensively, but he was exposed without Mattias Ekholm by his side. He must ramp things up in a big way if the Oilers hope to advance in this series.
Oilers’ Special Teams Played a Big Role
While the Oilers killed off a two-man advantage in the third, they still lost the special-teams battle in Game 1. The Kings went 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Oilers failed to convert on either of their two opportunities, which proved costly in a game that they lost by a single goal.
The Oilers were able to generate some good looks on their power play opportunities but couldn’t solve Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper. To win this series, they will not only need to convert when up a man, but they will also need to do a better job of drawing penalties to give their big guns more chances to hit the back of the net.
Looking Ahead for the Oilers
The good news is that despite losing this game, they proved during the final 20 minutes that they are capable of beating the Kings. They will need to find a way to start the next game the way they finished, and if they do, they should be able to even this series up and gain home ice as they head back to Edmonton.
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Game 2 between these two rivals will take place on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. They will then have another night off before the series heads back to Rogers Place on Friday night. They will wrap up their week with Game 4 on Sunday evening.
