Well, that’s not what you want to see, as the Edmonton Oilers fell 5-4 in overtime after trailing 2-0, 3-1, and 4-3 in Game 2 against the Kings. With the loss, the series is tied at one, with Game 3 heading back to Los Angeles.
The Kings scored the opening goal for the first time in the series as Evan Bouchard had a horrific turnover while the Oilers had possession. Anže Kopitar intercepted the pass along the wall, skated into the zone, and found Adrian Kempe for his first goal of the playoffs.
Towards the end of the first period, Kempe once again found himself finding twine, as there was a pass thrown across the ice that was deflected by Bouchard. In what was a pretty impressive display of hand-eye coordination, Kempe batted it out of mid-air to make it 2-0.
Edmonton got one back, though, as Brett Kulak made a solid defensive play on one end and was the late man up the ice, receiving a pass and blasting it past Cam Talbot to make it a 2-1 lead.
However, the momentum didn’t last long, as the Kings scored shortly after to make it 3-1. Drew Doughty, of all people, had a weak-side breakaway, beating Stuart Skinner to put three past him on seven shots.
The Oilers should’ve been on the power play at the very end of the first period, as the Kings clearly had six players on the ice and had possession, but even though the refs blew the play dead, no penalty was called. Pretty awful missed call.
Things changed in the second period, as the Oilers killed off a bad Corey Perry penalty (not the only time). On the penalty kill, Ryan McLeod had a breakaway and tried to slip it under Talbot’s pad, but it was saved.
The momentum the Oilers picked up continued though, and Dylan Holloway scored his first career playoff goal. Edmonton had a slight 3 on 2, and Holloway was left alone in the slot, beating Talbot to make it 3-2.
About three minutes later, the Oilers were on their first power play of the game. As you can imagine, the script stayed the same as it has in the past three postseasons, as Zach Hyman scored a goal from more than three feet away from the net. I know, it’s surprising.
The Oilers nearly scored another power play goal, but Talbot made a terrific save to rob Leon Draisaitl on the doorstep. Sadly, Edmonton was not able to take the lead heading into the third period.
Los Angeles got back the lead early in the third period, as Kevin Fiala took a quick shot to beat Stuart Skinner. While there was a fairly large human in Mattias Ekholm in front of him, this is a save Skinner needs to make.
It didn’t take Edmonton long to respond, as Dylan Holloway scored his second goal of the game with a nice shot from the faceoff dot, beating Talbot. Mattias Janmark picked up the assist and had a nice moving screen to distract Talbot just a little bit.
Zach Hyman is physical, but he doesn’t usually hit big. That wasn’t the case in the third period, as he absolutely laid out Phillip Danault who had his head down and reached for a puck. Easily the biggest hit of the playoffs from an Oiler so far.
Sadly, the Kings would prevail in the overtime period, as Mikey Anderson just fired the puck down the ice and Quinton Byfield got a terrific tip on the puck, and the puck landed to Kopitar. The Kings captain made no mistake, beating Skinner above the glove.
Things worth mentioning…
Dylan Holloway needs to be a full-time regular in the 2024-25 season, playing in the middle six. There’s just no excuse for it, as the 22-year-old is clearly ready for the NHL.
Mattias Janmark seems to elevate his game in the playoffs, as he picked up two assists on both Holloway goals.
Connor McDavid had a quiet night, picking up just one assist after a five-point night in Game 1. The Kings’ plan was to shut him down, and they did just that, at least during even strength.
Stuart Skinner had a rough game, saving 21 shots on 26 attempts for an .808 save percentage. Despite his save percentage in his first game, Skinner made big saves and played a lot better than the sub .900 save percentage suggests. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday.
Up next: The Oilers will head to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Friday at 8:30 PM MT. It feels like a must-win game, as the Kings now have a home-ice advantage.
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