After letting an opportunity to go up 2-0 in the series slipped away, the Edmonton Oilers poured it on in Game 3, dominating the Kings in a 6-1 victory. Tonight Edmonton needs to refocus, commit to their systems, and find a way to go up 3-1 in the series, putting all the pressure on the Kings as the series returns to Edmonton.

Some thoughts on the Oilers:

After a rough Game 2 where he simply did not look in control, Stuart Skinner was fantastic in Game 3, stopping 27 of 28 shots. Some of his best saves came early in the game with LA on the powerplay, keeping the Oilers up and forcing LA to have to open the game up to try and find ways to score.

For the Kings, the pressure falls heavily on Cam Talbot. While I wouldn't fault him for the loss as Edmonton simply generated far more and the defense in front of Talbot hung him out to dry, he has now allowed 4+ goals in every game of the playoffs. We still don't know who is going to start in net for the Kings in Game 4. Regardless of who it is the Oilers plan should be to attack early, score the first goal and put all the doubt back in the Kings heads.

Okay, now it's time to talk about Evander Kane.

I've been very critical of Kane this season and for good reason. He simply has not generated enough on a consistent basis and he makes far too many mistakes in the defensive and neutral zone. It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Evan Bouchard and don't criticize him as much when he makes a mistake in a game. The reasoning is simple; the positives that Bouchard brings on a nightly basis far outweigh any mistakes that he makes. That has not been the case for Kane... until Game 3.

Kane completely missed his assignment on the play that led to the Kings lone goal. He was slow to pick up his man and resulted in a wide open net for Drew Doughty. That was a mistake but let's focus on all the excellent things Kane did.

- Driving the net and a beautiful pass that led to the Draisaitl goal
- Being a net front presence and having the puck deflect off him to go up 4-1
- Some huge hits at all ends of the ice
- Completely getting under the skin of the Kings

That last point was the difference maker in that game. At some point, LA stopped playing hockey and focused all their attention on Evander Kane. From the dirty hit by Englund, the subsequent fights afterwards, a slashing call, the Kings started to target Kane and kept the Oilers on the powerplay for most of the third period.

LA became completely unhinged and totally undisciplined and Edmonton made them pay for it. Kane is at his best when he is teetering on that line and he was by far the MVP for the Oilers in that game. The trick now is for him to do it again and again. No one expects him to be dropping the gloves every game but if he is going to stay on the second line he needs to be a pest AND help the team outscore the opposition. Kane is never going to be a stalwart defender in his own end but if he can play like he did in Game 3, the Oilers will still come out with a net positive result.

I know it seems counterproductive to change a lineup after a win but I think it's time to get Carrick out of the lineup and have Ryan draw back in. In a game that was full of physical shenanigans, Carrick was invisible. He wasn't good in the faceoff circle going 4-8, and he had one hit. Unless there is an injury or something that is keeping Derek Ryan out of the lineup, I think it's time to make a switch. I would also try and get Connor Brown in but Holloway is still creating scoring chances and Knoblauch seems to love having Janmark in the lineup.

To keep LA on their toes, I would bump Holloway back with McLeod and Perry and try and get that chemistry going again and have Foegele and Ryan together on a fourth line and take on more defensive zone draws.

The Oilers had an opportunity to go up by 2 in the series in Game 2 and failed. Tonight we know LA is going to come out strong and far more disciplined than they were in Game 3. We will find out if the Oilers are ready for that and have the killer instinct to shut their opponent down in Game 4.

Thanks for reading!

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