3 Keys: Oilers at Kings, Game 4 of Western First Round

(P2) Oilers at (P3) Kings
10 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSW
Oilers lead best-of-7 series, 2-1

The Edmonton Oilers look to take a stranglehold on their Western Conference First Round series against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
The Oilers lead the best-of-7 series 2-1 after a pair of lopsided victories, 6-0 in Game 2 on Wednesday and 8-2 in Game 3 on Friday.
"If we play our game, when we get to our game, we're a tough team to handle," said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who has scored in each game of the series. "We're deep, we defend the right way, we've got a great goalie. ... So we're a tough team to beat when we play the right way and do things that we want to do."
Four of Edmonton's 17 goals in the series have come from Draisaitl (three) and Connor McDavid (one). The balanced attack has been a huge asset, especially in the past two games when the Oilers have outscored the Kings by a combined 14-2.
"I don't think you read to much into what the last games were," Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie said. "You just reset and you've got to do it again."
Having been overwhelmed on the scoreboard by the Oilers, Kings coach Todd McLellan said Sunday it doesn't feel like a deep hole for his team.
"It's 2-1 in the series], so two and one is three," he said. "[Game 4] is next. It's not 6-0 and it's not 8-2. No, we've got to win a game tonight."
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:
***[RELATED: [Complete Oilers vs. Kings series coverage]*

1. Tighter defense

The Oilers have done a strong job of limiting the Kings' Grade-A chances the past two games.
Having allowed 14 goals and an average of 36.5 shots on goal in the past two games, the Kings can't say the same. They need to get back closer to their regular-season form, when they were second in the NHL at 28.5 shots on goal allowed per game (Carolina Hurricanes, 28.2) and 10th in the NHL at 2.83 goals allowed per game.
Los Angeles thought it played a strong first period in Game 3, limiting Edmonton to seven shots, but trailed 2-0.
"Then we get caught trying to play a long game, which isn't really our forte," Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. "We're better when we check. We find a way to defend and get chances through that, but we got away from that a little bit, and obviously ended up costing us the last few games."

2. Special teams

It's been a one-sided category that the Kings must get a handle on if they hope to turn things around.
Edmonton is 5-for-11 in the series on the power play, and has scored one shorthanded goal.
The Kings are 1-for-12 in the series on the power play. They scored their first goal with the man-advantage in Game 3, but Phillip Danault's goal at 17:29 of the second period left the Kings behind 5-2.
"I hope it can [be a step in the right direction] because our power play has obviously been ineffective in the first two games," McLellan said of Danault's goal. "We had a little more substance to our power play in Game 3 and it should give us a little bit of confidence certainly."

3. Increasing contact

Aggressive play and hitting has been a focus for each team, though it may have waned a little after the scores became one-sided the past two games.
Timely body contact can force turnovers and change the momentum of games, something the Oilers have done effectively to win the past two. The Kings' goal is to do the same, but their timing has been off and they've had trouble knocking the Oilers off balance regularly. Improvement there is a must for Game 4, something the Oilers say they're expecting.
"It's part of our identity," Draisaitl said. "It's part of our team and obviously we never shy away from physical style of play. We're ready for it."
Said Barrie: "That's just playoffs. When you have a chance to get into a guy, or make an investment, you do it. And their team is obviously doing the same thing. You see that with all the series, it's a pretty physical time of year."

Oilers projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Zach Hyman -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto
Josh Archibald -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Derek Ryan
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak -- Tyson Barrie
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched:Kris Russell, Devin Shore, Derick Brassard, Olivier Rodrigue, Philip Broberg
Injured:None

Kings projected lineup

Andreas Athanasiou -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe
Alex Iafallo -- Phillip Danault -- Trevor Moore
Carl Grundstrom -- Blake Lizotte -- Dustin Brown
Brendan Lemieux -- Rasmus Kupari -- Arthur Kaliyev
Alexander Edler -- Matt Roy
Mikey Anderson -- Sean Durzi
Olli Maatta -- Jordan Spence
Jonathan Quick
Cal Petersen
Scratched:Tobias Bjornfot, Gabriel Vilardi, Lias Andersson, Troy Stecher, Quinton Byfield, Jacob Moverare, Austin Strand
Injured:Viktor Arvidsson (lower body)

Status report

The Oilers are expected to use the same lineup from the 8-2 win in Game 3 on Friday. … Grundstrom participated in an optional skate Sunday and will be a game-time decision after missing Game 3 because of an undisclosed injury. … McLellan said he was considering making additional lineup changes. … Arvidsson, a forward, will miss his fourth straight game.
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Greenspan contributed to this report