EDMONTON – These are the moments when everything the hockey team believes in is displayed right there on the locker room table. Or on the video screen, while the coaching staff tells how we got here, how we got out of here and what needs to happen in order to never be here again … at least in the 1st round.
The Edmonton Oilers lost control of their Round 1 series with the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4, removing their collective foot from the Kings’ throat after a 6-0 and 8-2 win, giving Edmonton the golden opportunity to bring the series back home with suffocation 3-1.
The Kings defeated Edmonton, winning in every aspect of the game. They wanted him more; they performed better; they fought harder; they got what they deserved: a 4-0 victory.
An Oilers fan would say that their team has allowed the Kings to regain this series. The kings will remind us that they are also trying and are not in a fantastic camp here.
Either way, it’s all just semantics.
We know this for sure: The series is tied at two games each, as we return to frosty Edmonton for Game 5. Fighting back home on ice is in Oilers ‘favor, but even with two wins, each is in Kings’ favor. a team that is supposed to have a great chance in this series, in the eyes of many.
So here we are. One team with fresh, new faith, another whose faith is being tested.
Now coach Jay Woodcroft believes that it is up to him and his team to dig into the loss of Game 4 and find the elements that can be changed in Game 5. So the final score line can also be changed.
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“You want to make sure you don’t just sweep things under the rug. That you see things the way they happened, “Woodcroft said. “You do your job and give your players something they can bite into to improve.
“We were not close to where we were supposed to be in some areas. We will turn to them, we will improve and we will be ready for game 5. ”
So what are the building blocks that Woodcroft already has? Here are a few:
• As good as Jonathan Quick was on Sunday, Mike Smith’s 0.942 playoff save was second among all NHL goalkeepers who played Monday night. Of the three goals he conceded in Match 4, one left him without a chance, another was thrown out by Duncan Keith, and the other stopped before Carl Grundström drove the puck into the net with his body. The battle with the goalkeepers is equal to or perhaps even an advantage for Smith – something that was in question when this series began.
• The Oilers scored 17 goals. Connor McDavid (1) and Leon Drysight (3) combined for less than a quarter of them. With nine of those 17 goals, neither McDavid nor Drysight were involved – so the result of the support that the team rejected a year ago is alive and well. Of course, Derek Ryan is hurt. But Drew Dowty doesn’t play for LA, so we won’t hear about injury problems in Edmonton.
• When the Oilers lifted the puck behind the LA defense and then hit them on the front check, this LA D-Corps eroded. The Oilers played this T game in Games 2 and 3 and won both with ease. The Oilers didn’t have enough puck in Game 4 to make that deal and lost. So, win your battles, take your share of time in Game 5 and have a proven formula for winning over LA
Looking back, the Kings looked like a desperate team with a last chance in Game 4 – and rightly so – until Edmonton got on his toes as a team, hoping their opponent would give up after 6-0 and 8-2 backfire. It was an elementary lesson for a team that has not played a playoff series for a long, long time, that the harder the opponent gets to win, the closer he gets to disappearing.
Is there another level at which Kings can elevate their game after this flawless performance in Game 4?
They would say yes, but we will have to see that to believe. This game was exactly on this side of the ideal, for the Kings.
Can Edmonton play better than Sunday in front of a home crowd in a huge swing match in this series?
Undoubtedly Oilers can. Even the most objective observer would agree.
“You will see a team of Edmonton Oilers who will come out prepared, show perseverance and play as a team that realizes that there are no shortcuts to success in the playoffs,” Woodcroft promised. “There were moments in this series for both teams.
“Ultimately, the team that continues to grow and improve will move forward.”
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