April 30th, 2025
JC Clemas
It really would have been something if every game of this series were chaotic messes for 60 minutes. Maybe this game was an intermission in that. After the Oilers tied the series up at 2, the teams shifted back to Los Angeles for the all-pivotal game 5. Almost 80% of teams that lead a series 3-2 go on to take the series (according to champsorchumps.us). There were 10 different series last NHL playoffs that featured a 3-2 lead, and the only one that ended in a comeback series win was Edmonton over Vancouver. Sorry. The point is that game 5 in a tied series often determines who will go on to win the series, so both teams were eager to get this one. It wasn’t the most exciting game, so this will be a pretty easy read.
Period 1
Okay, I said that both teams were eager to win, but that may have been a lie. The shot counter in the first period was 19-4 in favour of the Oilers. The Kings look like they have lost all motivation to compete in this series. Pretty much seems like forfeiting.
That being said, the period still ended without a goal for either side. Both teams got a power play (because of course they did) but for once, neither were able to capitalize. The person to thank for this would be Darcy Kuemper. In a theme that would persist throughout the game, he was the only player to keep the Kings anywhere close in this period. One of the saves in particular was flashy. Evan Bouchard cut to the net and received a pass. He was in all alone against Kuemper. Bouchard did everything right, but Kuemper was sharper. He used the glove to rob Bouchard of his 5th goal in 3 games.
That, and some other stellar play from Kuemper, helped to give us our first scoreless period of the entire series so far. And yes, it was “scoreless.” Nobody scored. Sure, there was a score, and it was 0-0, but nobody scored. It was scoreless. I don’t understand why this has become a debate. If you haven’t seen these arguments, then I probably seem insane right now.
Period 2
He’s so back.
The Kings were given a power play early on in the period after Alex Turcotte had a nice speed burst and drew a tripping call against Darnell Nurse. Pretty easy to have the energy for that when you’ve been scratched for 3 games and are only given 5 minutes in your return to the lineup.
After 2 games of poor play in Edmonton, Andrei Kuzmenko had to step up. He did. LA won the faceoff to open the power play. Kempe took it down low from the point, then spun it back to Kopitar at the blue line. Kopitar sent a wrister towards the net. In a goal we’d seen him score many times as a Canuck, Kuzmenko was waiting at the net front to tip it home past Pickard. That’s his 3rd goal of the series, all on the power play. Being a power play merchant is definitely a positive for the Kings. They desperately needed help there.
Shortly after, the Oilers got a power play right back. It was a lot of scrambling from the Kings, but they managed to kill off the two minutes. Edmonton kept the puck in the zone as Doughty escaped the box. Doughty then failed to check John Klingberg off the puck, someone he has about 20 pounds on. Klingberg was able to find Evander Kane in the high slot with the time granted to him. With open space, Kane was able to shoot one off the stick of Vladislav Gavrikov in front and over Kuemper’s glove. After all the work Kuemper had done to this point, his first goal against was deflected by his own team. Ouch.
By the end of the period, despite the 1-1 score, shots were 33-12 in favour of the Oilers. It was all Darcy Kuemper keeping them in this one. The Kings would have to come out flying in the 3rd to respond to the barrage created by Edmonton.
Period 3
They didn’t!
7 minutes into the period, shots were now 37-14. The Oilers’ 4th line was sent out. Trevor Moore tried to glove the puck down at centre, but it bounced off him and right to the stick of Vasily Podkolzin. Podkolzin entered the zone on a slight 3-on-2, with Janmark to his left and Arvidsson to his right. He dished off to Viktor Arvidsson, who slapped one off the blocker of Kuemper from beyond the faceoff circle. The puck rebounded perfectly to Mattias Janmark, and before Brandt Clarke could figure out that he’s supposed to be playing defense, Janmark tucked it beyond the extended Darcy Kuemper. 2-1 Oilers.
Late in the game, the Kings pulled the goalie. They threatened quite well with the extra attacker, but the Oilers were eventually able to clear the puck from the zone and force LA to regroup. The Kings opted to go for a change as their guys had been out for a while. Rather than waiting for his team to be ready, Drew Doughty dumped the puck in for them to chase, giving Edmonton a head start to get to the puck. The Oilers worked it out of the zone pretty easily. McDavid sent the puck ahead to Nugent-Hopkins, and he sent it into the empty net because Drew Doughty took a couple of seconds to realize that guy was going to get the puck. Game over, three straight wins for the Oilers. One win from moving on.
Overall Thoughts
You have to feel terrible for Darcy Kuemper. MoneyPuck tracked the expected goals of this game at a 6.47-2.02 advantage for Edmonton. The shot counter ended at 46-22. His GSAx was close to 4. It seems like the entire team just quit in front of him, and despite doing everything that I think a goalie could, it just wasn’t enough. This was by far his best game of the series, and arguably the best game played by a goalie in these playoffs so far. The entire team owes Kuemper a bottle of wine, a steak dinner, or some actual effort in game 6. I think Kuemper would want the last one.
Drew Doughty is so bad. Whether it’s his age creeping up (35 years old now) or an inability to get back to form after the preseason injury that made him miss so much of the regular season, he is a shell of his former self. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it’s the injury, because he was still a 50-point player last season. No matter what, his performances in this series have not been good enough. This is seen especially in the defensive end, but also in some moments in the offensive end. Two different times in this series, the Kings have been vying for a game-tying goal after pulling their goalie, and two different times, Drew Doughty has coughed up the puck at the blue line and gifted the Oilers the dagger. The fumble was one thing, but dumping the puck in before your team is in a proper position to chase after the puck is just awful. He can take the offseason, training camp, and preseason to recoup, but it sort of feels like we’re in the twilight years of his career now. LA has to bolster its defense in the offseason to account.
The Oilers seem poised to take this series. I can’t imagine what would make them look back now. They have all the momentum in the world, they just played a dominant game 5 that in most universes is probably a blowout, and now they get to go home to close out the series. It’s gotta be a defeated Kings locker room, knowing they’re on the verge of losing to the same team for the 4th consecutive year in the playoffs. The Oilers, on the other hand, know they can beat this team. They have all the power. They’re probably going to take advantage.
Drew Doughty is really, really bad.
Andrei Kuzmenko Recap
He didn’t play the best possible game by any means, but at the end of the day, he’s the only one who contributed a goal for the Kings. Everybody besides Kuemper can be blamed for the LA loss, but maybe Kuzmenko a little less than the rest of the team. Definitely less than Doughty.
Kuzmenko now has 6 points in 5 games this series, and if Edmonton closes out the series in game 6, he will officially be a point-per-game playoff player. Elias Lindholm was great for the Canucks in the playoffs last season, but this really makes you wonder what Kuzmenko could have added to the team during their run last season. With Rick Tocchet out of the picture, the biggest obstacle to Kuzmenko’s success in Vancouver is gone. Maybe we can bring him back! I’m kidding. I’m not THAT delusional.
Game 6
Game 6 is Thursday night at 7 pm Pacific. The Oilers are one win away from moving on to a second-round appearance, where they would face the winner of Vegas/Minnesota. I have to say, a Vegas/Edmonton series doesn’t sound too bad right now. I mean, I’d hate-watch it insanely hard, but it would still be fun. Los Angeles seems completely out of it, and I don’t even know if they have what it takes anymore to win 2 games in a row against Edmonton. I think this ends in 6. If the harmonica anthem couldn’t give them the will to compete, what even can?