Hockey weekends like this past one are always more fun when it’s not your team playing a tight and stressful game. But now it’s time we got back to watching our games.
As I’m writing this, the Los Angeles Kings are mutually parting ways with former defenseman and now former GM Rob Blake. I alluded to this when the series started, 2025 should’ve been, at least statistically, the year that they finally knocked out the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. I’m not so biased an Oilers fan that I thought a different outcome in this year’s opening round was impossible. The Kings had home ice advantage this time. They were both the best home team and the best defensive team in the league. They took a 2-0 series lead and had chances to go up 3-0 or 3-1, but they magically escaped them. Their #1 goalie this year is nominated for the Vezina trophy, and outsiders of the series had concerns over our team’s goaltending. If none of that was enough, the Oilers didn’t have their second-best and most all-around defenseman for all six games. I write a lot about Edmonton’s self-inflicted wounds during games, but LA’s self-inflicted wounds were so much more costly. What if head coach Jim Hiller didn’t challenge the Evander Kane goal in Game 3? What if Quinton Byfield’s clearing attempt in the last minute of Game 4 was successful? Those moments are going to keep them up at night. A lot of teams have heard outside noise in the past about struggling with their own Playoff demons, but even they didn’t have four straight early exits against the exact same opponents. The Kings aren’t a bad team at all, they’re really good. But if you’re them, how on Earth do you approach future postseasons? Do you have to win the Pacific Division or try your luck as the Central Division Wild Card? All just to avoid Edmonton. Granted, Game 6 was crazier and more offense-minded than I thought it’d be. But you’re not winning run-and-gun hockey against the franchise that invented it.
It’s been two years since Edmonton got knocked out by Vegas in the second round. In that same season, the Golden Knights won it all. That being said, of all the opponents Vegas had in that postseason, analysts have stated that the Oilers were the closest to beating them. Looking at it that way makes the series loss hurt more, Connor McDavid said as much after booking their Round 2 ticket. And with Jack Eichel, the second overall pick in 2015, winning a championship first, Connor might want to write his revenge chapter in the McEichel saga. The keys to the series are…
Edmonton Oilers Thoughts
Team Work Makes The Dream Work: The Golden Knights didn’t have a single point per game player in Round 1. They have stars, but they scored all 18 of their goals by committee. The Oilers scored almost 10 more goals and had four players with three or more. Their depth on offense that fans viewed as an issue in the regular season really elevated late in the first round. Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard combined for only one point in Games 5 and 6. That’s bad for my hockey pool, but good for team success. We need to see that continue on our side. An entire 20 man effort is especially crucial for both teams, as Edmonton is still without Mattias Ekholm, and Vegas’s leading goal scorer in the regular season, Pavel Dorofeyev, is listed as day-to-day.
The Pipes Are Calling: Adin Hill has an .880 SV% heading into Round 2, and Calvin Pickard has an .893 SV%. Those aren’t big numbers to write home about on either side, but getting the job done is all that matters. Pickard isn’t going to go the entire postseason undefeated; he’s not used to this sort of workload. But he can look to Hill’s journey as motivation, leading a team to win all four rounds when initially being the 4th string goalie. I don’t know whether or not we’ll ever see Stuart Skinner on the ice in these Playoffs again. Even a low-risk opportunity is too risky at this time of the year, and he unfortunately blew his opportunity at a clean slate. He won’t cheer for his teammate to lose the net badly, but a really unforgivable game might be the only time the coaching staff entertains giving the net back to Stu.
Start Better And Hold On: In the regular season, The Golden Knights posted 19 wins when trailing by a goal and four wins when trailing by two goals. But they also lost six games when leading by two goals. The Oilers had 13 wins when trailing by a goal, five wins when trailing by two goals, and both teams had one win when trailing by three goals. Edmonton has the same numbers when you reverse it to losing when leading. Going down 2-0 for the second series in a row is nobody’s game plan. But with Oilers fans reacting so strongly on social media to every play before the game is officially over, Games 3 and 4 against the Kings might’ve been a good mental health exercise to help prepare for this opponent.
ITR 36: Coaching Carousel – Inside The Rink
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