The Edmonton Oilers badly needed a win in Game 3 on Friday, and they got the job done.
After dropping Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles earlier this week, the Oilers returned home and hammered the Kings by a score of 7-4 to put this first-round series at 2-1.
Let’s go through the highlights from Game 3 and some things worth mentioning.
For the first time this postseason, the Oilers opened the scoring. Just over three minutes into the first period, Connor McDavid forced a turnover, got the puck to Zach Hyman, who passed it out front to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The longest-serving Oiler was all alone in front of the net for a while, out waiting Darcy Kuemper and firing it blocker side for the 1-0 lead.
Midway through the first period, the Oilers achieved another first this postseason. Their first power play of the game lasted three seconds, as Leon Draisaitl won the faceoff, set a pick on Anže Kopitar, allowing Evan Bouchard to fire it home.
The Kings cut the lead in half late in the first period. On a rush play for the Kings, McDavid and Bouchard went to the same player, leaving Adrian Kempe all alone in the slot. McDavid got a piece of it, which deflected it over Calvin Pickard’s shoulder and into the back of the net.
Edmonton’s best period all season was the second period, but the same cannot be said about the postseason. Late on the Kings’ power about six minutes into the second, Kevin Fiala was in an identical spot to where Kempe scored, and once again, an Oilers player deflected the puck above Pickard’s shoulder to tie the game up at two.
With just under five minutes left in the second period, Drew Doughty’s shot from the point beat Pickard as he was heavily screened by two players. Not much he could’ve done on this one, but once again, this goal came on the penalty kill.
The Oilers had an answer, though. Just over two minutes after the Kings’ 3-2 goal, the Oilers tied the score, as Evander Kane made a great pass to Connor Brown in front of the net, deflecting it past Kuemper for the 3-3 tie.
But nine seconds later, the Kings scored a demoralizing goal. Jake Walman got burned on a stretch pass. Trevor Moore broke in with Walman all over him, but that didn’t matter as Moore poked the puck between Pickard’s five-hole for the 4-3 lead.
With their season on the line in the third period, the Kings stymied the Oilers’ offence, that was until there were about six and a half minutes left. Chaos ensued from a Walman point shot, Kuemper fell over, and the puck found itself to Kane in the crease. He kicked it at first, but got a touch of the puck with his stick before the puck went in.
After two different reviews, one for the kicking motion and one for goalie interference, the Oilers ended up on the power play. It took the Oilers just 10 seconds to regain the lead, as Bouchard got the zone entry, dropped it to Draisaitl, got to the net and tipped in Draisaitl’s pass for the 5-4 lead.
Oil Country got some relief in the final two minutes of the game with Edmonton burying two insurance goals. Hyman threw a huge hit at the Oilers’ blueline and got the puck to McDavid, who iced the game with a goal into the empty net. Connor Brown also added a second empty-netter in the final few seconds.
Takeaways…
That was a must-win game. The Oilers have dug themselves out of a 3-0 hole in a series before to force Game 7, but falling down so quickly into the postseason doesn’t bode well for the rest of the run. It’s encouraging how they won this game, though the big test is finding a way to win on the road.
Jake Walman had a tough game by the eye test. He failed to get a clear on the Kings’ game-tying goal. The puck eventually left the zone, but the Kings scored on that zone entry. On the 3-2 goal, he took a needless penalty, leading to the goal. On their fourth goal, he got burned by Trevor Moore. He was also a game-high plus-three rating, so maybe the eye test isn’t always right?
With that being said, the Oilers are really missing Mattias Ekholm. They allowed goals on both penalty kills, bringing their postseason penalty kill percentage below 50%, killing off just five penalties on 12 attempts. The good news is that their power play got going, scoring on both of their opportunities.
Evander Kane made an impact. He took a needless one before the Kings’ first power-play goal. He finished his check, but decided to slew-foot the player, knocking him down and clipping him with a high stick. Still, Kane had a positive game. On the third goal, he made a terrific net-front pass. He also scored the fourth goal, his first goal since May 18 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Calvin Pickard didn’t have a great game on paper, allowing four goals on 29 shots for an .862 save percentage. But he made big saves. One came in the first period on a breakaway, turning the puck away with his pad. The other came in the final minute, getting a pad to the cross-ice pass. They have to start him again in Game 4.
Evan Bouchard had a good game. He scored twice but he also made some terrific defensive plays in his own zone. When I saw he and John Klingberg were a pairing, I was a bit confused/shocked/upset, pick an adjective. But they played well together.
This is now officially a series. Next up is another game in Edmonton, as the two teams battle on Sunday at 7:30 PM MT. The Oilers need a win.
