Oilers confident entering Game 4 despite trailing in Western 1st Round
Aim to avoid penalties, feel 'results will come' with Kings ahead 2-1
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The Kings won 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 on Friday on a power-play goal by Trevor Moore at 3:24 to take the lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 is here Sunday (9 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSW).
"It's an emotional roller coaster, but we're only down by one game," forward Zach Hyman said Saturday. "We have an opportunity to even the series tomorrow. We've been in worse situations, and we're excited about the opportunity."
Edmonton, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division, is trying to regain home-ice advantage with a win. Game 5 is at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tuesday, and the Oilers would be facing elimination if they were to lose Game 4. They trailed the Kings 3-2 in the first round last season before winning the next two games to advance.
"We like the way we've played," Hyman said. "It hasn't gone for us, but that's hockey. It's a game of bounces, a game of mistakes, a game of penalties. We have an opportunity to tie the series up tomorrow and regain home ice, so we're excited about it."
RELATED: [Complete Oilers vs Kings series coverage]
The Kings, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific, have battled from behind in all three games of the series. They twice trailed by two in the third period in Game 1 before winning 4-3 in overtime on a power-play goal from Alex Iafallo. Los Angeles also fought back from a two-goal deficit in Game 2, tying the game before losing 4-2, and fell behind 2-1 midway through the second period of Game 3.
"Playoffs are never easy, especially when you're playing against a division rival, and you expect to be in this series for a long time. So, tomorrow is a big game for us," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "This time of year, it's a test to see who can continue to play their game and the game they want to play for longer and hope that gets you over the hump. For us, we can't get frustrated, we just have to continue to play the same way that we were playing, and the results will come."
The Oilers have controlled play at even strength so far in the series but are getting into penalty trouble. Los Angeles has scored timely power-play goals, a the trend that continued in Game 3, with Adrian Kempe tying the game 2-2 on the man-advantage 18 seconds after Connor McDavid had given Edmonton the lead. The Kings were awarded the power play when Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty for slashing Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on his way to celebrate McDavid's goal.
The Kings are 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) on the power play in the series; the Oilers are 4-for-8 (50 percent). Edmonton had been assessed the most penalties of any team in the playoffs entering Saturday.
"You have to eliminate the penalties that don't have an effect on the play," Hyman said. "They are starting to call those more frequently. That's the standard and we have to be aware of that standard and make sure we're not giving them any freebees. I think now, we're well aware and I don't think there'll be any more of that."
McDavid, who led the NHL this season with 64 goals, scored his first two of the series in Game 3, but Hyman and fellow top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto have yet to score.
Hyman (83 points; 36 goals, 47 assists in 79 games) and Nugent-Hopkins (104 points; 37 goals, 67 assists in 82 games) each had an NHL career high in points this season, and Yamamoto had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 58 games.
"It's three games, and in hockey, you can go three games without scoring a goal," Hyman said. "You have to keep going through the process and keep doing the right things. Eventually, they'll go in. At this time of year, it doesn't matter who scores and that's the mentality of everybody in the room. If you have enough guys going to the net, it will go in eventually."
The Oilers finished the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and 15-game point streak (14-0-1). Coach Jay Woodcroft feels they are prepared to handle adversity in the playoffs.
"We've used our 82-game schedule to bunker in and prepare for a real long series," Woodcroft said. "Nothing worthwhile never comes easy, and that's the way it's supposed to be. So, for us, we feel prepared, we're doing numerous good things we want to build on and then there's other parts of our game that have to get tightened up a little bit."
