Two games into the series, the Edmonton Oilers find themselves tied 1–1 as the series shifts to Southern California for Games 3 and 4. The first game was a clear Oilers win, where they showed just how good their star-power is.
However, L.A. responded in Game 2 with an incredible trap game, keeping the Oilers’ star players to the outside for much of the game. The Oilers did force their way back into the game in the back-half of the second period and into the third, but the Kings just willed themselves to a victory in overtime.
Game 3 goes tonight and the Oilers will need to find a way to beat the Kings. On paper, they should be the better side, and betting against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman is a fool’s errand. However, the Kings are not an easy side to deal with, and have proven more challenging than the Oilers probably thought.
Here is what they need to do to win game three:
Break the trap
The Kings learned their lesson from Game 1, and went into Game 2 playing a neutral zone trap-game. This strategy clogged up the middle of the ice, limiting the Oilers’ chances to break into the offensive zone with the puck. They were then reliant on dumping the puck in and retrieving it, which was harder to do when they were outmuscled by the physical Kings’ side.
The solution to this trap is to break through with speed, and this is where the Oilers shine. The likes of McDavid and Draisaitl have the footspeed to push through the trap and create opportunities to setup in the offensive zone.
On top of that, the Oilers need their wingers to be able to retrieve the puck better on dump-ins, and then setup in the offensive zone. This has been a challenge as L.A. has really hunkered down in their own zone to prevent quality looks. Crisp passing and speed down the wings will be a key to success in game three.
Skinner needs to be at his best
In a loss, it always feels like the goalie gets the brunt of the blame, but in this one, Skinner simply was not good enough. He finished with a 0.808 save percentage, stopping 21 of 26 shots against. While he did stop four of the six high danger shots he faces, he also allowed two medium danger goals and one low danger goal, which is very unlike him.
Skinner sits 15th in save percentage in the playoffs of the 18 goalies who have played. Only Alexandar Georgiev and Casey DeSmith have worse numbers than him this playoffs. He sits fourth from the bottom in medium-danger and dead last in low-danger save percentage. These are incredibly concerning numbers for the Oilers, who have banked on Skinner to be their guy.
And look, while you can’t blame Skinner for every goal in Game 2, you have to hope that your goalie could stop at least one or two of those goals. The third goal in particular, Skinner looked completely out of position, allowing Drew Doughty‘s shot to just slide between his legs. This is one he probably should have had for sure.
The Oilers may have finished second in the Pacific Division, but the NHL is a very equal league, and it’s very possible that the Kings could take this series simply through winning the goalie battle. So far they have won that battle, with Talbot having better numbers and making bigger saves than Skinner this playoffs.
Pucks on net
It’s worth considering (with due respect) that the Kings are still playing Talbot in net. The 36-year-old netminder is on a very good season, finishing 13th in save percentage this season, but is still 36-years-old and has been known for his inconsistency.
While he has made some huge stops for the Kings, he hasn’t been much better than Skinner. He has allowed the most goals against of any goalie in the playoffs so far this season with ten, and sits near the bottom in medium-danger save percentage. The way to beat him is with heavier shot volumes.
The Oilers did an excellent job with that in the first game, putting up 45 shots on net, including 33 at 5v5, but dropped to 31 in Game 2. There were a lot of looks, but the Kings were getting in front of those chances or the shots were going wide.
This needs to change in Game 3. Draisaitl bounced a short hopper on Talbot midway through the second that nearly turned into a scoring chance, and that one moment seemed to spark the team to realize they could have won the game. Alas, it ended up being for naught, but if the Oilers can pepper Talbot next games, it should put them in a position to win the series.
The x-factor
The Oilers have so much star power in their lineup, and the Kings have done a reasonably good job of matching against it. McDavid and co are never going to be fully silenced, obviously, but the emergence of Dylan Holloway could be massive for this team.
Depth scoring has long been an issue, but last game saw the rookie take a massive step forward and show just how good he can be for this Oilers team. To score two massive goals in a tough game despite playing among the least number of minutes of anyone in the lineup is a big sign of what is to come. While Holloway hasn’t had the best season, splitting time between the AHL and NHL, his emergence this last game was reminiscent of Fernando Pisani in 2006, who had 14 goals and 18 points in 24 games. His emergence was a huge reason why the Oilers went as far as they did that year.
If Holloway can have a breakout series and continue to put points on the board in the next two games, the Oilers should go back to Rogers Place to close out the series in five games.
What to expect tonight
The Oilers are going to come out hungry in Los Angeles and are going to try to take the Crypto.com Arena crowd out of the game early on. If they can do that with an early goal, the Kings are going to be forced to push forward as opposed to being able to play the trap game that they like and should be an easier test for the Oilers.
However, the Kings leave Edmonton with the one thing they probably didn’t have going into game one: hope. They led through the first period of Game 2 and ended up picking up the win at the end of the day. Game 1 made this series feel like it was going to be a blowout, but now the Kings are right in it and feel like they can take this series when it’s all said and done.
It’s up to the Oilers to execute their gameplan and really show the Kings that they are the top dog in the Western Conference. If Edmonton can score early and get saves from Skinner, game three should go their way.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
