- Share via
EDMONTON, Canada — When the Kings boarded their charter flight to Edmonton last week they had a commanding lead in their first-round playoff with the Oilers. After going 0 for Edmonton, they got back on their plane early Monday with the series even at two games apiece.
The best-of-seven series is now a best of three, beginning with Game 5 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. But a 2-0 series lead isn’t the only thing the Kings lost in Canada. They also gave up third-period advantages in both games in Edmonton, losing a 3-1 lead Sunday on two goals from defenseman Evan Bouchard, the second with 28 seconds left in regulation.
That sent the game to overtime, where Leon Draisaitl won it 4-3 on a power-play goal with 92 seconds to play, leaving the frustrated Kings to ponder what they’ve squandered.
“We have to find a way to seal the deal,” center Phillip Danault whispered in a locker room so quiet you could hear the team’s playoff hopes drop. “The little mistakes. You’re up 3-1, you’ve got to make those plays when it counts.
“It’s hard to win. Especially on the visitor side.”
That last point would seem to favor the Kings since two of the final three games in the series, if needed, will be played in Los Angeles, where the team won a league-best 33 games this season. But if the Kings still have the home-ice advantage, they no longer have the momentum.
Now it’s the Oilers who believe.
With the Kings looking to take a 3-0 lead in the playoff series, the Oilers seized the momentum with four unanswered goals at raucous Rogers Place.
“We have a strong belief. A strong belief that we’re never out,” said center Connor McDavid, who had assists on both Bouchard goals. “We’re trying to find ways to win games. We found a way tonight.”
It’s actually the same way they’ve used to outscore the Kings 12-5 in the third period and overtime in the series. In Game 1, the Kings let a three-goal lead get away before rallying to win. In Game 3, they were outscored 4-0 in the final 20 minutes in a game the Oilers won. And in Game 4 they gave up the final three goals, watching a two-goal lead turn into another loss.
The series has truly been a tale of two cities: The Kings never trailed in Los Angeles, but have been outscored 11-7 in Edmonton. The Oilers failed to score on five power-play opportunities in Los Angeles, but converted four of five chances in Edmonton — the last of which was Sunday’s game-winner.
So it’s no surprise the Kings couldn’t wait to get on the plane Monday.
“We’re excited to go home,” said Warren Foegele, whose goal 91 seconds into the second period gave the Kings a 2-0 lead. They would be outscored 4-1 the rest of the way.
“They’re all painful now,” Foegele said of the loss. “But at the end of the day, you’re trying to be the first one to four wins.”
Sunday’s collapse made that goal a bit more challenging. And afterward, a clearly distraught Jim Hiller had no patience for questions about his team’s repeated meltdowns.
“Next question,” the Kings’ coach said when queried about his approach in the third period.
“Do you have some ideas?” he asked the reporter who posed the question.
Well one idea might be to change the strategy of using nine forwards and four defensemen, because trying to close out a game with tired legs on the blue line isn’t working. On Sunday the Kings watched the Oilers pepper goalie Darcy Kuemper with 33 shots in the third period and overtime after giving up just 15 shots on goal on fresh legs in the first two periods.
Fatigue might also have been a factor on the winning goal, which came just 44 seconds after defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who played nearly 32 minutes Sunday, was sent off on a questionable tripping call.
“We just wore them down,” McDavid said. “They like to absorb pressure. That can be taxing at times. You’re trying to wear the other group down. They’re trying to wear us down.”
“We’re a tough group to close out in games.”
“That’s our identity,” added Draisaitl, who led the NHL with 52 regular-season goals but had never scored an overtime playoff winner before Sunday. “That’s the mentality that we have. We’re never going to quit no matter what.
“We’ve shown that in the series so far. Maybe a little bit too much.”
The Oilers may have also gotten a little help from Kings’ forward Quinton Byfield, who failed to clear the puck out of his team’s zone in the final minute of regulation, allowing Bouchard to tie the game with a blistering slap shot from near the blue line.
The Kings manage to come back from a two-goal deficit and take the lead before the Edmonton Oilers score four third-period goals in the Kings’ 7-4 loss.
What’s certain is the Kings had less than 12 hours to put all that behind them before they climbed aboard their charter flight home Monday. Hiller strained to find a silver lining to the black cloud hovering over his team.
“That’s the beauty of the game. At home it’s easy. You get 20,000 people cheering for you. On the road, you’ve got 20,000 people getting after you,” he said.
“They suck it up, answer questions, get a rest. Then get ready to go do it all over again.”
If they don’t use the flight home to figure out a way to do it better, the Kings could be facing another long summer.
