This one’ll haunt the Los Angeles Kings for quite some time.
The Edmonton Oilers defeated their Pacific Division rivals 6-4 at home in Game 6, marking their fourth consecutive first-round victory over the Kings.
For the first time in those four meetings, the Kings had home-ice advantage over the Oilers. They took care of business in L.A. in Games 1 and 2, then blew two opportunities to put a stranglehold on the series in Edmonton in Games 3 and 4.
Game 3 saw the Kings enter the third period with a 4-3 lead before allowing four unanswered goals in a 7-4 loss. In Game 4, Los Angeles came into the third frame up 3-1 before losing 4-3 in overtime.
By the time the series shifted back to Los Angeles for Game 5, the best home team during the regular season had no response for the Oilers, who found their groove during those two comeback victories in Edmonton. The Oilers doubled the Kings in shots and put them on the verge of elimination with a 3-1 victory in Game 5.
Teams that go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series more than 87 percent of the time in NHL history. The Kings are now among the roughly 13 percent of teams to blow said series lead after the Oilers knocked them out with a Game 6 win in Edmonton.
The Oilers and Kings moved in opposite directions as this series went along, and that was a testament to Edmonton’s superior depth. While Los Angeles was reluctant to use more than three forward lines and four defenders, the Oilers had Evander Kane, Jake Walman, John Klingberg, and Trent Frederic return from injury and make an impact in this series.
Edmonton will now face the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the playoffs, a rematch against the team that knocked them out two years ago. The Oilers are a stronger and more experienced team this time around.
What they said…
Connor McDavid on the Oilers finishing off the Kings in Game 6…
“We got offence from all over the lineup (in Game 6). It’s great. You need that, you need different guys stepping up. I thought (Connor Brown) had his best game as an Oiler, maybe. He was fantastic. (Calvin) Pickard, obviously. You go down the list, we had guys step up. It wasn’t our best, but we found a way tonight and that’s what good teams do.”
Darnell Nurse on what the Oilers changed after losing in Games 1 and 2…
“We defended better. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but we defended better than we did in the first two games. Also, too, with our special teams, our special teams stepped up in big ways and in big moments. Our power play and PK, too, some of that came down to eliminating opportunities against. I think we gave them a few too many power plays in those first two games, and we were able to settle our game down and build off those big moments.”
McDavid on how Edmonton’s come-from-behind wins changed the series…
“I think you saw early in the series we just looked a step behind. Give (the Kings) credit, they were ready to roll. They wanted it to be different. They were ready those first two games. They played great, but guys got their legs under them, a little bit of momentum.”“Those Games 3 and 4, I can’t say how big those were. You go down 3-1, 3-0 or whatever it is, it’s tough to dig your way out, but we just found our way in those ones and rode the momentum.”
Los Angeles head coach Jim Hiller on his team’s missed opportunity…
“One-hundred percent it’s a missed opportunity. It’s very clear it’s a missed opportunity for us. Especially when we had great buy-in from our players. We believe we could have won the series, we believe we should have won the series. We didn’t, so that’s the bottom line. We had our chances to get it done, didn’t get it done.”
Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar on why this loss to the Oilers hurts more than others…
“This one’s tough to swallow. Having the season we had, and to have the guys in this locker room and come up short again, it’s frustrating. This one hurts a little more. Especially having home ice, and off to a good start with winning the first two games and then just not being able to close games out. It cost us.”“You can pinpoint Game 3, and we didn’t close out Game 4. That’s a completely different series if we go home up 3-1 versus 2-2. But, coulda, woulda, shoulda…”
McDavid on facing the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round…
“I’m looking forward to it, they’re a great team,” McDavid said. “Obviously, they’ve won. They’re solid through the back end, solid through the middle of the rink, are deep. There’s eight teams left, they’re all good, they’re left for a reason. We got our work cut out for us, but we’ll be ready to go.”
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