Kings Crown Oilers in 5-1 Loss

The Edmonton Oilers dropped a 5-1 decision to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night. The Kings got the jump on the Oilers with an early first-period goal and then feasted with three PP goals late in the game on a major penalty to Connor McDavid.

Darnell Nurse got the lone marker in this very forgettable game for the Oilers.

It wasn’t pretty and I envy the people who didn’t have to sit through it. That being said, here is the complete recap of why it was so bad...

First Period:

Edmonton’s habit of lethargic starts continued yet again tonight. The Kings were all over the puck in the early stages and it resulted in a goal against. Trevor Moore caught Kris Russell flat-footed and then fed Rasmus Kupari on a cross-creaser that Koskinen had no chance on. 1-0 LA less than two minutes in.

The Kings didn’t let up there. They followed that up with another great shift and then Viktor Arvidsson dented the crossbar after that. Edmonton was lucky the game wasn’t 3-0 less than 10 into this one. Shots read 10-2 for LA with 12 minutes remaining.

Edmonton got a chance to tie things up on a power-play with under five to go in the period. They were able to develop a few nice chances on the net but couldn’t beat Jonathan Quick.

Adrian Kempe added yet another post to LA’s total in the final minute. No other goals would transpire as the Oilers would somehow find themselves down by just one goal. 1-0 LA after 20 minutes.

Second Period:

The middle frame started fairly similar to the first. The Oilers were able to get a few shots on net but the Kings, once again, scored early. Kempe burst into the Oilers end, used Darnell Nurse as a screen, and wired it under the arm of Koskinen. 2-0 Kings.

Edmonton had yet another chance with the man-advantage a few shifts after the Kempe goal but, again, they weren’t able to convert.

Just when things looked as bleak as ever, as Philip Broberg got caught on a trip to give LA their first PP chance, Edmonton got a spark of hope. A lucky break sprung the Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a 2-on-1 that ended with Nurse roofing it for a shorthanded marker. Nurse has his first of the year while the Oilers get their fourth shorthanded goal. Edmonton cuts the lead to 2-1 LA.

That goal seemed to give the Oilers the spark they needed. The game started to shift in favour of the home team and the chances started to come.

They wouldn’t find the equalizer in the period but things were starting to finally trend toward Edmonton. The deficit remained one as the Kings took a 2-1 lead into the third.

Third Period:

Edmonton bucked the trend of slow starts to a period in the third. The team came out shooting and had a few good looks at the net. The Kings, however, weren’t letting those shots get on net.

All hope of a comeback was extinguished with just over six minutes left in the game. Connor McDavid was given a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct after catching Kempe with a gnarly boarding call. It seemed like McDavid caught him on the shoulder but it was still in the numbers. With a shade over six minutes remaining the team had to kill off a five-minute penalty without their best player.

Kempe wasn’t any worse for wear as he cashed in his second of the game on a rebound to get the Kings up by 3-1. Doughty added another on the PP to put the game far out of reach at 4-1. Trevor Moore completed the hattrick of PP goals as the Oilers were completely deflated.

The LA King walk out of Rogers with the 5-1 victory while Edmonton drops consecutive games for the first time this season.

Takeaways:

• The Oilers struggled early on in this one and it forced them to play from behind. At some point, you have to look at the coach and wonder why his team can’t seem to start on time. Just like Seattle, this was a winnable game for the Oilers that they let slip away with a horrid first half.
• I thought McLeod and Benson had good games. McLeod especially looked a lot more comfortable than he has in the past. A few nice moves on the rush...I don’t have much to say about Kassian on that line.
• Edmonton’s defensive play remains their biggest weakness. Kris Russell allowed Trevor Moore to absolutely walk around him to create the game’s first goal...which isn’t a shock. Russell and Barrie should be a pair of guys that lead your group...instead they are being outplayed by rookies with less than five games under their belt. Something has to change.
• The McDavid hit wasn’t pretty by any means. It was definitely a boarding call but I hesitate to say it was a major. You never want to see a guy go into the boards like that after being hit into the numbers so I suppose it might make sense to give him a major. That being said, I’ve seen a lot worse only be given a minor.
• Mikko was solid in the Edmonton net all the way up until the three goals on the five-minute major. By that point, the entire team was mentally and physically checked out so I can’t give him much fault there. The second goal was one he should’ve had. Nonetheless, you don’t win many games by scoring only one goal.
• I don’t have much else to say. I thought this was one of the most low-action Oiler games all year. They decided to start playing late in the second and that showed in the result. It’ll be easy to blame the officiating for the last five minutes, but Edmonton didn’t do much with the other 55 minutes of the game.
• The Oilers drop consecutive games for the first time all season. Their record is now 16-7-0 as they welcome in the Minnesota Wild for game two of their six-game homestand this Tuesday.