Postgame: Kings 3, Oilers 2 (Shootout)

Some quick post-game thoughts on tonight’s tilt between the Oilers and Kings.

And I do mean quick. I got tied up with a personal matter and missed the majority of the game, so I basically have the highlights, the scoring chances, the last shift of overtime and the shootout to work off of.

Speaking of that last shift, it was interesting to compare the Penner faceoff loss and the Ganger faceoff win. While neither really ended up resulting in anything, the only reason Gagner got credited with the win was because Penner jumped in and took control of the puck. It’s been suggested by others that one of the Oilers’ big problems may be lack of wing support on those messier draws, and it obviously makes a big difference. It was also interesting to see Gagner/Penner without one of Hall or Eberle; I assume Renney wanted two faceoff options out there.

I wonder if the coaching staff has been working with Dubnyk on the shootout; he was good in the skills contest last season but prior to tonight’s game against Los Angeles he’d been quite bad, allowing five goals on just seven shots. He was both aggressive and efficient, and his save on Justin Williams in particular impressed me, as Williams made a near-perfect shot that could easily have handcuffed Dubnyk.

I have no idea how I missed John Stevens getting hired by Los Angeles.

I was delighted to see Tom Renney send out Eberle/Hall/Omark as his first three shooters. The first two have been quite good so far in the shootout, and Omark’s a delight to watch. Unfortunately, because Omark is so impressive on occasion, it’s a big letdown when he just skates in and shoots it like he’s not a big showoff. Especially after I was secretly hoping Brown would score just so I could watch Omark shoot.

And as happy as I was to see Renney’s first three shooters, following them up with Gagner/Penner made me groan. Then I remembered what Renney’s options were and groaned for an entirely different reason.

Just watching Ryan Smyth chat with Anze Kopitar prior to the latter’s shot made me nostalgic. There’s been a lot of water under the bridge but I still miss that crooked-nosed, scraggly-haired winger.

By the scoring chances, this was a fairly impressive contest. Toss in Dubnyk’s save percentage and shootout performance and the stats don’t show a goat tonight. Is that accurate?