Kings 1 – Oilers 1 (1st period)
The Oilers came close to scoring in the opening minutes of the game. As Mikey Anderson lay on the ice after an accidental collision with Connor McDavid, Oilers forward Zach Hyman hit the post.
Limited to just one short shot in the first half of the first period, the Oilers finally opened the scoring on their second shot of the game. During a restart, Kane completed a nice passing game with Leon Draisaitl by scoring with a backhand shot that escaped David Rittich.
Then with 28 seconds left in the period, bad luck befell Stuart Skinner and the Oilers. Skinner came out of his net to recover a clearance from Vladislav Gavrikov, but the puck returned directly to the front of the net after a bizarre bounce on the boards. Alex Laferriere took the opportunity to push the puck into a gaping cage and bring everyone back to square one after 20 minutes of play.
Pre-match notes
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers have the chance to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings for a third straight spring on Wednesday when they host Game 5 of their first round series at Rogers Place.
The Albertans lead three wins to one, two days after winning Game 4 1-0 with the help of a good defensive effort on the Kings’ ice.
With a good chance to advance to the next stage, the Oilers want to revive their dynamic attack in front of their fans.
“We want to attack a little bit,” admitted star forward Leon Draisaitl. It’s our DNA.
“There’s nothing wrong with the way the last match was played, but we played a little less on the heels and presented them with a more imposing challenge,” put the No. 29 into perspective.
Edmonton’s captain, five-time Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, leads the playoff scoring column with ten points (1-9) in four games.
Draisaitl isn’t far behind with eight points, while winger Zach Hyman is tied for first in goals (6), a few weeks after finishing the regular season with 54 goals.
In the fourth duel, Los Angeles had the upper hand 33-13 in shots on goal; an anomaly for Kris Knoblauch’s men, who are used to controlling possession and the share of shots.
“You have to be comfortable playing in these situations,” noted defenseman Darnell Nurse. That being said, I think we want to get back to our fast style, and dictate the game. In short, not having to defend as much (as Monday). »
As for the Kings, they must resign themselves to a difficult reality: that they will need three consecutive victories to overthrow their rivals.
“There are always things we don’t like in a match. But in Game 4, there weren’t many,” said Kings interim head coach Jim Hiller.
“We didn’t have perfection because it’s difficult to achieve, but we played our best game in a long time. In our minds, the series should be [égale 2-2]. »
The result still remains a gap of 1-3 to fill for the Californians.
