This morning, Oil Country is mourning what could have been. The Edmonton Oilers were down 4–0, somehow miraculously pulled off a comeback to tie the game at five, and then gave up a last-minute dagger to lose Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings by a score of 6–5 at Crypto.com arena. Series openers have not been kind to the Oilers, who now fall to 3–11 in Game 1s in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.
A critique of the Oilers lineup
During warmups, the following lines were confirmed by Oilers’ rink side reporter Tony Brar:
At first glance, most of the coaching staff’s decisions seemed straightforward, with one glaring exception: Josh Brown would be drawing on the third pair and slot beside Ty Emberson, who would play on his off-side. It seemed Brown, who spent most of the year patrolling the Bakersfield Condors blue line, would be the first option in Troy Stecher’s absence.
To say Oilers fans were concerned hearing this news would be an understatement. In his last game against the Kings, Brown was a -2 in less than 14 minutes of ice time and was at fault for both goals against. Beyond that, he has been rated as the worst player in the NHL, responsible for a 22% increase in quality shots allowed per 60 at even strength (the highest rate among all active players).
As fans feared, Brown was immediately noticeable for the wrong reason. After being the primary culprit on the Kings’ first power play goal—which came less than three minutes into the opening period—Brown finished the game with less than five minutes of ice time and was only reintroduced to the kill when Jake Walman had to serve time in the penalty box late in the game. With Cam Dineen and John Klingberg waiting in the wings, it will be interesting to see whether Paul Coffey makes any adjustments or continues with this experiment moving forward.
The other surprise was Trent Frederic’s appearance on the third line in his second game as an Oiler. After a lingering high ankle sprain that kept Frederic out for all but seven minutes of action post-trade deadline, many fans were unsure about whether he would be an option to start the playoffs. Kris Knoblauch had been playing coy with Frederic’s availability for weeks, and seemingly for good reason, as Frederic looked a step behind the play all night. He ended the night with 09:11 time on ice, about a minute more than he was able to struggle through during his Oilers debut back in March. Frederic’s minutes suggest that his injury troubles are not behind him, and his usage will be something to keep an eye on as the series progresses.
A unique Coach’s Challenge
At 11:07 of the third period, Walman launched a puck into the seats from the Oilers’ defensive zone. What was initially ruled as Delay of Game by the referee, despite the linesman’s insistence that the puck had been deflected, mind you, was challenged by Knoblauch and company, initiating an official review. After lengthy discussion and deliberation, the puck was ruled by the officiating crew to have been shot straight into the crowd, giving the Kings their second five-on-three of the night.
This scenario felt especially unfair as an Oilers fan victim to an almost identical situation against the Kings in 2022. At the time, Trevor Moore appeared to have high-sticked the puck in the offensive zone right before the Kings scored on the power play to win Game 1 in overtime. But it was ruled a good play then and an illegal one now.
A tale of two games and the “Almost Miracle on Manchester”
If you’ve made it this far, you may be wondering when we’d get to the comeback. Well, here it is. Unbelievably, and painstakingly, the Edmonton Oilers were able to drag themselves back into this game after being down 4–0 with approximately 23 minutes remaining.
Led by their captain, who ended up being a primary contributor to four of the Oilers’ five goals, Edmonton clawed their way back to respectability after appearing listless and out of sorts for over half the match. There were two Oilers teams last night: one that could barely muster five shots toward the Kings’ goal in the first two periods, and another that poured 15 on Kuemper in the final frame.
The comeback was in motion after a classic McDavid to Draisaitl passing play. McDavid shrugged off Anze Kopitar with a beautiful spin move and laid a pass directly in Draisaitl’s wheelhouse, which he fired home for Edmonton’s first of the night (and first against Darcy Kuemper in eight periods).
The next Oiler to score was Mattias Janmark, who, in what might have been the most shocking moment of the night, finally beat a goalie with a shot off his own stick early in the third period.
After surrendering a five-on-three goal to Kevin Fiala, which made the score 5–2 at the time, the next beneficiaries of McDavid’s brilliance were Corey Perry and Zach Hyman, who both received slot passes from the captain and fired the puck past Kuemper outstretched arms one after another. Finally, with less than two minutes to play, McDavid would pick up a beautiful outlet feed from Draisaitl, rip a bank pass to himself off the half wall, and tuck a sneaky shot five-hole underneath Kuemper’s pads.
Ultimately, despite the Oilers being able to tie the game in beautiful fashion, they ended up being victim to a Philip Danault flub shot dagger with 42 seconds left in the game. A broken play in the offensive zone led to a three-on-two break, and as Stuart Skinner lost sight of the play, partially due to a screen by former Oiler Warren Foegele, Danault’s one-timer fluttered by his large frame and into the yawning net. Skinner would be the first person to tell you that that puck should not have gone in and that he needs to be better, but actions speak louder than words. It’s a near guarantee that Edmonton will not win this series unless he turns things around.
Chin up, Oil Country
If you’re feeling down about the game and what could have been, you’re not alone. But just remember, this isn’t the first time the rug has been pulled from underneath you, and it certainly won’t be the last. Think positively;: Edmonton dressed Josh Brown, didn’t get favourable officiating, and couldn’t put a puck by Kuemper for half the game, but still somehow almost won the game. As a King, that would make me unsettled.
On May 18, 2022 Edmonton was down 6–2 to Calgary with half the game remaining.
— Adhi (@OilerAlert) April 22, 2025
They would storm back and tie it at six early in the 3rd, before promptly giving up what would be the GWG a minute later and eventually losing 6–9.
They then won four straight.#LetsGoOilers
With McDavid and Draisaitl, anything is possible.
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