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Oilers vs Kings Round 1 Game 5 |
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Tonight the Edmonton Oilers have an opportunity to finish off the LA Kings and move on to the Second Round to play the winner of the Canucks and Predators. Throughout these playoffs, the Oilers have played excellent hockey, scored timely goals, defended well when they needed to and had some strong goaltending performances. Overall they have been better than the LA Kings but it isn't over until it's over.
If the Oilers lose tonight then they go back to LA for Game 6 in a tough building. The Oilers won both games on the road; winning three straight on the road in the playoffs can be tough. If LA wins that, suddenly it's Game 7 and anything can happen. We saw the Boston Bruins last season choke after holding a 3-1 stranglehold against the Panthers.
This isn't to say if the Oilers don't win tonight than they are done, far from it. This Oilers team is good and they can only be held back for so long. What I want to see tonight from Edmonton is the killer instinct to attack the Kings early and put this thing to bed.
Some quick thoughts.
Game 4 was a nail biting performance as the Kings did everything they could to stifle the Oilers. A lone Bouchard powerplay goal put the Oilers ahead and ended up being the game winner. While the Kings certainly generated far more shots than Edmonton, the Oilers did a phenomenal job defensively to keep most of the Kings shots to the perimeter, making things much easier on Stuart Skinner who came up big when he needed to. There are a couple metrics that showed the Oilers were actually ahead of the Kings in High Danger Chances in that game. I don't completely buy that but I think it was a near perfect defensive performance by Edmonton.
Now back at home, the Oilers need to try and find a way to get a couple matchups back in their favor. No Oilers line was outshooting the Kings in Game 4 but the RNH-Draisaitl-Kane line struggled particularly bad. They were outshot 16-2 at 5 on 5. They need to perform like they did in Game 3.
A potential Cup may depend on that second line figuring things out as I don't see a better optimization of the lineup. McDavid and Hyman are so good together, there is no way you split that up. Henrique has been a fine complimentary piece but I don't think he pushes the offense more with Draisaitl than with McDavid.
Maybe Dylan Holloway ends up taking that spot. In practice, Holloway was bumped back to the third line with McLeod on Perry, a line which was very strong leading into the post season. I think Knoblauch has handled Holloway quite intelligently in these playoffs, rewarding him for solid play but not immediately throwing him into the fire. I don't think Holloway should be getting elevated into the top six until a bit further down this playoff road if he continues to show well.
Foegele is quickly looking unplayable in these playoffs and finds himself on the fourth line with Ryan and Janmark and I wonder how long it will be until he finds himself as a healthy scratch and Connor Brown getting a look. Whether it's with the puck or away from it he just isn't showing any of the offense that led to his career high 20 goal regular season.
One more shout out to Stuart Skinner and his shut out. After a tough Game 2, the mobs came out suggesting that it might be time to go to Pickard in net. Skinner was great in the Game 3 victory and was amazing in Game 4. If the team in front continues to play the way they did defensively in Game 3 and Game 4 and Skinner plays at the level he has shown, that is a recipe for success.
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Quick unrelated to the playoffs, the Norris voting came out today with Hughes, Josi, and Makar being the finalists. I wasn't surprised to not see Evan Bouchard's name on the list but I will be curious to see where he finished in voting. My guess is 4th or 5th.
Enjoy the game tonight.
Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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