April 29th, 2025
JC Clemas
After taking game 3, Edmonton looked to even the series against LA up with another home win. The Kings, on the other hand, had their eyes fixated on taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. Let’s just get right into it.
Period 1
We needed a relaxing period to open it up.
Though LA managed 14 shots against Edmonton’s 6, the period was pretty uneventful. The Kings received two power plays in the period (because of course they did) but were unable to capitalize on either. 10 minutes through the game, we got our first action.
The puck was deflected deep into the Edmonton zone. Darnell Nurse attempted to clear it around the boards, but Trevor Moore was waiting to knock it down. Leon Draisaitl went to pressure and collected the puck, only to lose a handle on it and have it go right to Phil Danault. Danault made a nice behind the back pass to Moore who approached the net on Pickard’s left. Despite all the awful goals Skinner let in during the first two games, this one by Pickard may take the cake as the worst moment from a goalie so far this series. Moore fired it toward the net from the faceoff dot. It didn’t seem very threatening, but it made it through the legs of Pickard, who was unbelievably late to react. Not a great one to give up as an icebreaker. Or at all.
That was it for the 1st period scoring. They can’t all be chaotic periods.
Period 2
This period was more of what we’ve seen from the series.
Early on, the Kings’ 3rd line was sent out there for their first shift of the period. They rushed it across the blue line, but were checked and the puck bounced to Connor Brown high in his own zone. He turned to notice a charging Phil Danault coming in his direction. In his panicked stickhandling, he lost control and was checked. The puck perfectly shot towards Warren Foegele all alone at the front of the net. The former Oiler’s first attempt was rejected by Pickard. Foegele kept with it and forced it through Pickard’s pad. Edmonton’s goalie was adamant that it was goaltender interference. His coach disagreed, didn’t challenge, and Foegele officially had his first goal of the series. That was also Danault's 7th point in the 4th game of the series. He’s quietly been one of the best players on the ice this series.
I’ve made it so far without talking about a power play goal! It was really nice while it lasted. 93 seconds after the 2-0 goal, Draisaitl drew a hook against Adrian Kempe to send his team to the man advantage. 1 minute into the power play, Draisaitl got the puck down low to Corey Perry, whose back was to the net. Perry backhanded it on net, it popped up in the air, he smacked it into the crease, and then he tucked it home. Kuemper had no idea where the puck was until he saw Perry celebrating in front of him. Really a crafty goal by the veteran. Daniel Sedin deserved the 2011 Hart Trophy.
With that, the lead was cut to 1. That didn’t last particularly long. Just 3 minutes later, the Oilers had an offensive zone draw. McDavid drew it back to Evan Bouchard at the point. Bouchard tried to make a move to the backhand to get around Fiala, but the puck was knocked off his stick, finding Alex Laferriere. Laferriere sent a lob for Fiala to go after, and it was beautiful. The puck evaded Bouchard and Nurse, making it through to Fiala, who knocked it out of the air. He got a mini-breakaway out of it, and though Nurse was pestering him from behind, he was able to sneak it under the arm of Pickard to make it 3-1. The goal got a head shake from McDavid on the bench, which may reveal where the Oilers’ morale is at right now.
Period 3
As we’ve noticed many, many times before, the Oilers refuse to go out quietly.
They were clearly playing with desperation, which is often something that can help a team. 8 minutes through the 3rd, the desperation paid off in the most random way possible. The puck ended up bouncing around in front of the Kings’ net. Doughty was there to attempt to clear it, but it hopped on him and he wasn’t able to get all of it. The puck went to Bouchard’s stick in the slot. He let a really weak one rip from that area that probably had like a 0.1% goal probability. The puck was on its way to go well wide of the net. Unfortunately for Drew Doughty, his bad luck with the bounces would continue just a second after his giveaway. The shot bounced off the inner part of his right skate and skidded right into the net. 3-2. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck. The Oilers got just that.
Then, you need some skill. Edmonton pulled their goalie to get the extra attacker out late. The puck was held in the Kings’ zone for a while. Eventually, the puck came to Quinton Byfield. He had time and space to move the puck out. Rather than softly dumping it out of the zone, he elected to skate it up. He was checked immediately and the puck stayed within the blue line. The Oilers worked it back to Bouchard with about 30 seconds remaining. Bouch Bomb time. He absolutely clapped it straight into the back of the net to tie it up late. 4 goals in the past 2 games for Bouchard. Again, his offensive zone impact cannot be denied. On to overtime!
Overtime
This was absolute chaos.
There were chances galore on both ends, but primarily from the Oilers. Kuemper was sharp. The period was running low on time, and it looked like we were set for 2OT. That was when the refs found their whistles. Gavrikov took down McDavid after a scoring opportunity for Edmonton with just about 2 and a half minutes to play. It seemed more like a collision than a trip, as Gavrikov wasn’t even looking at McDavid when it happened. It seemed more like McDavid tripped over Gavrikov’s leg by himself. I will say, there were definitely missed calls on the Kings throughout the game, even on McDavid himself. This is one that could have been let go, especially with it being in OT.
There’s no surprise that the Oilers were able to capitalize. The Kings’ main guys had played so much of the game because of Jim Hiller’s deployment strategies. They were dog-tired. The puck was thrown toward the crease, causing a mess of bodies around Kuemper. Mikey Anderson found the puck and attempted to send it to the boards. Instead, he put it right onto the tape of Draisaitl. With Kuemper sprawled on the ice and not even facing the puck, Draisaitl had basically the whole net to shoot at. He’s not going to miss that. We have a 2-2 series!
The overtime period was absolutely dominated by Edmonton. It really looked like they just wanted it more. It just sucks that it had to end like that.
Overall Thoughts
Do the Kings even want to win this series? In the two games they’ve lost in Edmonton, they’ve squandered a 3rd period lead. They’re just completely taking their foot off the gas while Edmonton is stomping the pedal to the floor. Part of this could be on Jim Hiller. Of the 3 players on LA’s bottom line, Jeff Malott logged the most playing time. He was on the ice for 4:39. The Kings are essentially running 3 forward lines out there, which is sure to add to their exhaustion even more. Playing against a guy like McDavid is already a seemingly impossible task, but it’s even worse when you’re tired. He doesn’t get tired. Hiller needs to use his 4th line so his best players have enough rest for the late parts of the game. They’re just getting caved in during these 3rd periods (and the overtime). The Kings need to continue pushing even when they have the lead. Sitting back will cost them the series.
The Oilers seem inevitable. They just will never go away. No lead is safe. It’s to be expected at this point, with how much playoff experience their core has and how explosive it is most of the time. McDavid and Draisaitl are terrifying to play against. Evan Bouchard is so offensively gifted. Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins can be great scoring options. Playing against these players is a daunting task, and they’ve managed to make it over so many steep mountains. Makes you feel better about the Canucks’ effort against them last year while playing injured and without playoff experience.
Home-ice advantage has been the key to this series. The home team has won the first 4 games, a trend that was very predictable given LA’s track record this season. Let’s see if that trend continues into game 5.
Andrei Kuzmenko Recap
Nothing happened here. He wasn’t playing that well. He even got benched in the 3rd while his team was nursing a lead. It didn’t work out for them. Hopefully Kuzmenko can get back to his game 1-2 self upon returning to LA.
Game 5
Game 5 is Tuesday at 7pm Pacific. There’s certainly a chance that this could be the deciding game of the series. Whoever wins it will take a 3-2 series lead and be 1 win away from moving on. Whoever loses it will have to win the last 2, including 1 game on the road, which has been a problem for both. It seems the momentum has swung in Edmonton’s favour, and now that they’re actually getting saves from a goalie, you have to be concerned for LA’s fate. Pickard made 38 saves on 41 shots, which is pretty unheard of for an Edmonton goalie. It’s unlikely he can repeat that unless LA continues to give up on offense late in games. They’re going to need to rally behind their home crowd to swing the series back in their favour. Edmonton, on the other hand, will have to block the noise out. Especially Pickard. It’s pretty evident that the chants against Skinner shook him. Pickard will have to tune it out and play his game. Otherwise, we may see another 6 goal game from the Kings. It’s going to be fun!