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Oilers vs Kings Round 1 Game 2 |
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It's nice for a change when I write a blog about the Oilers needing to prove immediately that they are the better team... and for the team to actually do it.
From the moment the puck dropped, the Edmonton Oilers had a very business like attitude at how they approached the game. They made smart decisions with the puck, they rarely got caught in their own end, and they shot the puck when they had the chance instead of trying to force something. The Edmonton Oilers look like a team that is truly ready to make noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While the final score ended up being somewhat close, 7-4 that doesn't truly reflect the state of the play in that game. The last two goals in particular scored by the Kings were among the flukiest I've ever seen. The first, a shot directly off Nurse's skate and into the net when no one else was around. The second, Ceci breaking his stick on a simple pass, falling to the ice, throwing the puck into the middle of the ice, having it picked up by an opponent and scoring on a broken play. Ceci made the absolute worst possible decision on that play but that likely isn't going to happen again.
McDavid was phenomenal with his first career 4 and 5 assist playoff games but the show was stolen by Zach Hyman and his first career playoff hat-trick. Last season Hyman had a breakout season with an 83 point campaign but struggled to score, particularly in the first round. Hyman had a 54 goal season this year and it is fantastic to see him keeping that production up in the post-season; the Oilers need it.
Adam Henrique also had a solid complimentary game next to McDavid and Hyman, posting a goal which set an NHL record for most days between playoff goals with 4,333 days. With Hyman and McDavid being the top duo, Henrique simply needed to keep up and chip in where possible, he certainly succeeded.
Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm played a strong game together and looked very calm out there at both ends of the ice. Bouchard had 4 assists himself. Take a look at the company Bouchard is in
Stuart Skinner was solid in net and I as mentioned earlier, I wouldn't fault him for the last 2 goals due to their bizarre nature. The biggest moment in the game came when the Oilers were up 2-0 and a rare mistake led to a Kings breakaway. Skinner stopped the shot and 20 seconds later the Oilers were up 3-0. That was a huge momentum shift as who knows what would've happened if the Kings were suddenly one goal behind.
Overall it was a convincing win by the Edmonton Oilers but now the tape is once again reset. Two other games in the West last night resulted in those series being tied at 1-1 instead of a team being up 2-0. Tonight the Oilers have a huge opportunity to go up 2-0 heading into Game 3 in LA. It's not going to be easy as you know the LA Kings are going to make adjustments and do whatever they can to suppress the Oilers top line but this Edmonton team has been overcoming obstacles all season.
A positive for the Oilers, the Kings plan to use Danault and their shutdown line of Arivdsson and Moore was not successful at all and the Oilers captain made them into swiss cheese. LA will try to adjust but it's promising off the start for the Kings best defensive option to not be effective against #97.
The Kane-McLeod-Perry line played the most minutes at 5 on 5 for the Oilers in game 1 and played a solid game and while they did not score, they also did not allow any goals against and created some good chances. It will be interesting to keep an eye on that line and see if Holloway is given any shifts there but for now I think Kane will remain.
I hope you all enjoy the game tonight.
Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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