EDMONTON — These are the moments when everything a hockey team believes in gets laid out right there on the dressing-room table. Or the video screen, as a coaching staff drills down on how we got here, how we get out of here, and what has to happen to never be here again … in Round 1, at least.
The Edmonton Oilers lost control of their Round 1 series with the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4, taking their collective foot off the throat of the Kings after 6-0 and 8-2 wins had presented Edmonton with the golden opportunity of bringing this series back home with a 3-1 stranglehold.
The Kings stomped Edmonton, winning in every facet of the game. They wanted it more; they executed better; they battled harder; they got what they deserved: a 4-0 win.
An Oilers fan would say that their team let the Kings take this series back. The Kings would remind us that they are trying too, and they’re not at a fantasy camp here.
Either way, it’s all just semantics.
This we know for sure: The series is tied at two games apiece as we return to frigid Edmonton for Game 5. Wrestling back home-ice advantage favours the Oilers, but being even at two wins each favours the Kings, a team that wasn’t supposed to have much of a chance in this series, in the eyes of many.
So, here we are. One team with fresh, new belief, another whose belief is being tested.
Now, coach Jay Woodcroft believes, it’s up to him and his staff to dig into that Game 4 loss and unearth the elements that can be altered in Game 5. So the final score line can be altered as well.
“You want to make sure you’re not just sweeping things under the rug. That you’re seeing things the way they occurred,” Woodcroft said. “You do your work, and you give your players something they can sink their teeth into, in order to improve.
“We weren’t anywhere near where we needed to be in some areas. We’re going to address them, we’re going to improve, and we’ll be ready for Game 5.”
So, what are the building blocks that Woodcroft already has in place? Here are a few:
• As good as Jonathan Quick was on Sunday, Mike Smith’s .942 playoff save percentage was second among all NHL goaltenders heading into play Monday night. Of the three goals he allowed in Game 4, one left him chanceless, another was tipped home by Duncan Keith and the other he stopped before Carl Grundstrom plowed the puck into the net with his body. The goaltending battle is even, or perhaps even advantage Smith — something that was in question when this series began.
• The Oilers have scored 17 goals. Connor McDavid (1) and Leon Draisaitl (3) have combined for less than a quarter of those. On nine of those 17 goals, neither McDavid nor Draisaitl were involved – so the support scoring that sewered this team a year ago is alive and well. Sure, Derek Ryan is hurt. But Drew Doughty isn’t playing for L.A., so we won’t hear of any injury woes in Edmonton.
• When the Oilers got the puck behind L.A.’s defence, then pounded them on the forecheck, that L.A. D-corps eroded. The Oilers played that game to a T in Games 2 and 3, and they won both handily. The Oilers didn’t have the puck enough in Game 4 to ply that trade, and they lost. So, win your battles, get your share of possession time in Game 5, and there is a proven formula to beating L.A.
In hindsight, the Kings looked like a desperate, last-chance team in Game 4 – and rightfully so – while Edmonton tiptoed into the game like a team hoping their opponent would give up after back to back 6-0 and 8-2 shellackings. It was a rudimentary lesson for a team that has not led a playoff series in a long, long time, that an opponent gets harder to beat the closer they are to extinction.
Is there another level for the Kings to raise their game to after that flawless Game 4 performance?
They’d tell you, “Yes,” but we would have to see that to believe it. That game was just this side of perfect, for the Kings.
Can Edmonton play better than it did on Sunday, in front of a home crowd in a massive swing game in this series?
Unquestionably, the Oilers can. Even the most objective observer would agree with that.
“You’re going to see an Edmonton Oilers team that is going to come out prepared, come hard, and play like a team that realizes there are no shortcuts to playoff success,” promised Woodcroft. “There have been moments in this series for both teams.
“In the end, the team that continues to evolve and improve is going to move on.”
