#LAKings Balanced Oilers pounce on Kings miscues for 3-2 series lead (Daily News)
EDMONTON, Alberta What not to do when you are trying to regain lost momentum …
Take an early penalty.
Continue to take penalties against the leagues best power play.
That hardly covered the Kings error-riddled performance in Game 5 on Tuesday night a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place but that is a decent start at getting the general idea across.
The Oilers now lead the best-of-seven, first-round playoff series 3-2. A year ago, the Kings were the team that held a 3-2 series lead before the Oilers went on to win in seven games in the opening round.
This time, there is a sizable gap in the schedule as Game 6 is on Saturday at Cyrpto.com Arena, which conceivably could help the Kings regroup, reset … or whatever word you want to use.
One Kings player who will need the rest and plenty of ice is Drew Doughty, who blocked a Connor McDavid shot in the second period and looked to be in discomfort. Doughty stayed in the game but didnt quite look like his usual self.
Another looming issue: Which Kings goaltender should get the start for the elimination game?
That will be one of the many questions facing the Kings leading up to Game 6. Starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was pulled in the second period for Pheonix Copley after allowing four goals on 19 shots. Copley faced eight shots and allowed two goals.
The winning recipe for Edmonton went well beyond the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl Show. Thirteen different Oilers landed on the scoresheet, including McDavid, who had two assists, and Draisaitl, who scored his sixth goal of the series. Nick Bjugstad scored twice, his first goals of the series.
The Oilers scored three times in the first period, twice in the second and once in the third. They went 2 for 3 on the power play, and the Kings, who didnt get their first power play until the third period, went 0 for 1 with the man advantage.
The Kings got goals from Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe, both in the first period, and Quinton Byfield, in the third. It was Byfields first career playoff goal.
Byfield started the game on the first line and dropped to the third line by the end of the first period and then the fourth line, by virtue of a dreadful defensive effort in the first period. He was minus-two after the first 20 minutes, on the ice for the Oilers second and third goals.
That the Kings were only trailing 3-2 after the first period had a lot to do with the collective effort leading to Iafallos goal and the stellar individual showing by Kempe, who cut the Oilers lead to 3-2. It also had plenty to do with a mistake-filled showing by Edmonton in the opening period.
More to come on this story.
https://www.dailynews.com/2023/04/25...2-series-lead/
Take an early penalty.
Continue to take penalties against the leagues best power play.
That hardly covered the Kings error-riddled performance in Game 5 on Tuesday night a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place but that is a decent start at getting the general idea across.
The Oilers now lead the best-of-seven, first-round playoff series 3-2. A year ago, the Kings were the team that held a 3-2 series lead before the Oilers went on to win in seven games in the opening round.
This time, there is a sizable gap in the schedule as Game 6 is on Saturday at Cyrpto.com Arena, which conceivably could help the Kings regroup, reset … or whatever word you want to use.
One Kings player who will need the rest and plenty of ice is Drew Doughty, who blocked a Connor McDavid shot in the second period and looked to be in discomfort. Doughty stayed in the game but didnt quite look like his usual self.
Another looming issue: Which Kings goaltender should get the start for the elimination game?
That will be one of the many questions facing the Kings leading up to Game 6. Starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was pulled in the second period for Pheonix Copley after allowing four goals on 19 shots. Copley faced eight shots and allowed two goals.
The winning recipe for Edmonton went well beyond the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl Show. Thirteen different Oilers landed on the scoresheet, including McDavid, who had two assists, and Draisaitl, who scored his sixth goal of the series. Nick Bjugstad scored twice, his first goals of the series.
The Oilers scored three times in the first period, twice in the second and once in the third. They went 2 for 3 on the power play, and the Kings, who didnt get their first power play until the third period, went 0 for 1 with the man advantage.
The Kings got goals from Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe, both in the first period, and Quinton Byfield, in the third. It was Byfields first career playoff goal.
Byfield started the game on the first line and dropped to the third line by the end of the first period and then the fourth line, by virtue of a dreadful defensive effort in the first period. He was minus-two after the first 20 minutes, on the ice for the Oilers second and third goals.
That the Kings were only trailing 3-2 after the first period had a lot to do with the collective effort leading to Iafallos goal and the stellar individual showing by Kempe, who cut the Oilers lead to 3-2. It also had plenty to do with a mistake-filled showing by Edmonton in the opening period.
More to come on this story.
https://www.dailynews.com/2023/04/25...2-series-lead/