PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Kings (Game 2)

The Edmonton Oilers look to tie the series with the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on Wednesday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet and CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 2 vs LAK 05.04.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 2 vs. LAK
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Draisaitl
PRE-GAME RAW | Archibald
PRE-GAME RAW | Yamamoto
RECENT VIDEOS
RAW: Coach Woodcroft
RAW: Jesse Puljujarvi
RAW: Tyson Barrie
RAW: Zach Hyman
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Kings Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Harness The Energy
BLOG: Tuesday's Optional Skate
GAME RECAP: Kings 4, Oilers 3
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Wednesday's game on Sportsnet & CBC at 8:00 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers practice at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
EDMONTON, AB - There will be no unknowns for the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night when the puck drops on Game 2 at Rogers Place.
The atmosphere was electric in the building prior to puck drop in the series opener against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, with the energy and expectation of a strong start leading to a nervy opening and tempered beginning to the game from the Oilers before they found their footing down 2-0 late in the first period.
Tonight, the players in the Oilers locker room who felt the noise build from their stalls before taking to the ice, know and understand the raucous environment they're heading into.
"It's exciting. The building is loud and there's lots of energy obviously, but you can't fall into that trap and maybe we did a little bit last game," Leon Draisaitl said. "Tonight's a new game, we're ready to go, and we're excited."
Despite the 4-3 loss in Game 1, the process of evaluating their game and improving their process for the next contest was no different from the regular season for the Oilers and Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, who went through the motions of regrouping and readjusting at Tuesday's practice for tonight's opportunity to even the series.
For the bench boss, there will be an extra emphasis on beginning the game strongly.
"What we've tried to do over the last two-and-a-half months is be consistent in our process. In doing that, we've seen consistent progress," he said. "After Game 1, we talked about getting a little bit better each day as we move through this series. We had a good day yesterday and I think the mindset for our team is a good one."
"We want to start the game better than we did in Game 1. It's a focal point for us."
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 05.04.22
Beyond the opening minutes of the game, Draisaitl thought there were further adjustments to make and weaknesses in the Kings to exploit -- including making it harder for a smaller and less-experienced opposition defence to deal with their physicality, strength, and play down low on the cycle.
"I think there were good signs of that last game at times where we got our game going a little bit, but it wasn't long enough and it wasn't consistent enough through the 60 minutes, so we're looking to do that," Draisaitl said.
"We've got big forwards that want to protect the puck. We're a good grinding team down low, so we're looking to do that."
When you combine all of the above over a 60-minute hockey game with an Oilers special teams that was 2-for-4 on the powerplay and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, you have all the ingredients of a recipe for a rebound.
"I think our special teams were really good," he added. That's a good start. That's big and needs to continue. Other than that, there were little spurts where we were good and played our game and played the way that makes us successful, but there were large parts where we didn't do that, so we're just looking to find more consistency in the way we want to play."
YAMMIN' UP THE PRESSURE
Understanding Kailer Yamamoto's desirability as a linemate to his teammates is as simple as looking at his body of work in Monday's stellar performance from the Spokane, Wash. product in Game 1.
"I think a game like the other night is a perfect example of a Yamamoto game, right?" Draisaitl said. "He's in your face, he keeps pucks alive, he makes good plays when he has the puck, and he's just a good all-around hockey player. He had a great first game and we need him to continue to play like that."
The 23-year-old was ravenous on pucks, getting his small 5-foot-8 frame into the equipment of his opponents and making offence happen most notably in the second period, where it came in the form of a couple of big checks and a goal and assist on the powerplay.
"We talk a lot about being physical on offence," Woodcroft said. "In the second period last game, if I can recollect it, I saw Kailer go into a 50/50 puck battle with a much larger human being and he not only won the puck but he stiffened that player up with a good body check. I do think that is contagious that type of mindset."
The tenaciousness of such a small body not only brings out the best in Yamamoto's game, but also helps drive the physical element within his teammates as they try to embody a smidge of that energy in their own game.
Video: PRE-RAW | Leon Draisaitl 05.04.22
"I think Yamo, he plays inside you and that's annoying as an opponent. He plays inside your equipment, he gets underneath you, sometimes underneath your legs too somehow, but I think he's a pest to play against," Draisaitl said. "He's not fun to go up against, so it's contagious. Personally, I can't play the way he does for 60 minutes. I'm not that type of player, but it is contagious in our group for sure."
To Yamamoto, he's the same player he was in junior playing for his hometown Spokane Chiefs trying to embody different elements of other smaller players in the NHL like Martin St. Louis, Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, and fellow Washingtonian Tyler Johnson. The only thing now is he's playing against men over other teenagers, and a lot of those players are at the level of the ones he envisioned becoming in the NHL.
"I think ever since I was a little kid I've always been the smallest kid on my team growing up, so I think having those attributes in my game definitely helps," he said.
Yamamoto attributed his comfortable showing in Game 1 to lessons learned in last season's playoff defeat to the Winnipeg Jets, where the weight of the series led to a bit too much tunnel vision on delivering physicality over worrying about where the puck was.
"Last year I think I learned don't get too high and don't get too low," he said. "I feel like I got so amped up that I wanted that physicality all the time and I just forgot about the puck a little bit. This year I'm trying to still play that way but focus on the puck more. You can't score if you don't have the puck."
One of the newest elements this season, however, is the energy of an electrified Rogers Place that got the best of him in the opening period in the same vein as it did for his fellow teammates. On his first shift, the a bit too much of an amped-up approach led to a roughing penalty.
"It's the first time I've played in front of these fans in playoffs] since I've been here, and the fans were unbelievable. I don't think I've seen better fans than that anywhere I've played, so I think that definitely got the best of me."
[Video: PRE-RAW | Kailer Yamamoto 05.04.22
Learning where the line is when it comes to physicality and tenaciousness has been a constant feel-out process over his hockey career, and learning to find it in a charged Rogers Place in the playoffs is a new experience he'll be able to nail down.
"I've played hockey my whole life, so I think you just get a feel for it on the ice," he said. "You see when you can get an extra hook, maybe a hit in there, and when you can't, so I think that's just kind of what I've learned over the years and I'm sticking with it.
But as of now, the confidence is in the right space for Yamamoto to build on his game come puck drop on Game 2.
"It builds it up," he said. "Hockey I find, on the mental side, is a lot about confidence. The more you have the better you're going to play, so it definitely builds up my confidence. But at the end of the day, it's not an individual sport. We lost a game, so I need to be better for this game and hopefully get the W."
"I'm a competitive guy. I always want to win, so I think as soon as that puck drops something switches and I go into game mode."
ARCHIE IN FOR GAME 2
Forward Josh Archibald is slated to make his return to the lineup tonight on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Derek Ryan in a move by Coach Woodcroft to add a versatile, physical and energetic option to the fold for Game 2.
"I see a feisty type of guy, someone who gets in on the forecheck, finishes his check, and is a detailed checker who works back to his own zone," Woodcroft said. "(He is) someone who is a good penalty killer. I think he'll come into the line-up and give us some energy."
Archibald suited up for the regular-season finale on April 29 against the Canucks and is chomping at the bit to get into a playoff game tonight and bring his tenacious game to the lineup in hopes of making an immediate impact.
"It's exciting to be back," he said. "Exciting to be back in the playoffs after just watching the first game with the fans and you notice the atmosphere around it. It'll be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to getting back tonight.
"I'm back up to speed, had a good last game that we played in, but obviously playoffs are a whole new level and I'm just going to bring what I bring tonight and take it one game at a time."
Video: PRE-RAW | Josh Archibald 05.04.22
The playoffs are a different breed to the regular season, but Archibald's body of work outside of eight regular-season games includes plenty of game simulation and hard work in practice. He has no doubts with how ready his legs will be tonight for the speed of the post-season.
"I think our staff here has put me on a good program," he said. "When I haven't been able to travel, I've been back here skating. We've been doing game sims, so I've been keeping my legs up, but playoffs are one thing. It's a whole different ball game from practice, so I think I just have to play simple and be ready."
Playing simply for Archibald begins in the defensive zone, where he plans to play solid and have that work out towards the Kings' end.
"Obviously the defensive zone is important," he said. "I think you take care of the defensive zone and the offensive zone will take care of itself, so just take care of our own end tonight."
Like his teammate Yamamoto, he hopes to walk the line of physicality and keep his game clean after taking a minor penalty last playoffs against the Jets that led to a power-play goal against and instigated a Winnipeg comeback.
"I think you said it. You want to play on the edge but not go over it," Archibald said. "Obviously there were some emotions last year that led to one thing, but I just have to play on the edge and play my game and play hard tonight."
LINEUP NOTES
The decision to go with Archibald on the third line with Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan comes with the coinciding move of dropping Warren Foegele to the fourth line with Ryan McLeod and Zack Kassian.
"Our staff decided that we think that might be the best way for us to lineup tonight," Woodcroft said.
"All of the available forwards to us all bring different ingredients. I think when you're looking to insert people into the lineup, that's a big part of it -- the types of ingredients that players bring. We know over the course of the playoffs you're going to use a lot of bodies. We're comfortable with everyone at our disposal. For tonight, we're excited to have Archy jump into our lineup."
An extra forward means Woodcroft will divert to the 12 forwards and six defencemen route over 11 forwards and seven defencemen, so Kris Russell is expected to be a healthy scratch with Devin Shore and Derick Brassard.
"As we talked about all along, we want to have the ability to both and remain flexible," he added. "It makes us a difficult game to prepare for when we have the ability to do both. Heading into Game 1, we wanted to make Darnell was fully healthy and could get through the game and he did a good job at doing that."
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. KINGS
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet and CBC
Oilers Team Scope
Edmonton is looking to rebound in front of their home fans following a 4-3 loss to the Kings in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup series on Monday.
The Oilers came out with a little too much energy to start the game, losing their structure in an attempt to make the big play.
"There's obviously a lot of emotion with fans in the building, and excitement. I thought we just didn't handle it all that well," Connor McDavid said about the start. "The Kings got the jump on us. I think we did a great job getting back in the game and gave ourselves a chance, but ultimately it came down to one bounce."
"The fans were unbelievable, it was bumping in there," goaltender Mike Smith said. "We came out and we were running all over the place and got out of our structure because it was so energetic. You feed off the energy. To be out there and barely hear your heartbeat is something you just live for and why you play hockey.
"It's good to have fans back in the building," Smith added. "The energy was unbelievable, and we want to keep that going and hopefully get a win out of it."
The Kings took advantage of the Oilers over-eagerness and jumped out to the early 2-0 lead with goals from Trevor Moore and Alex Iafallo.
Edmonton was able to claw back before the close of the first period courtesy of a sensational goal by Connor McDavid. The Oilers captain cut in down the right flank through a forest of Kings defenders and ripped a low shot by Jonathan Quick. The late strike helped breathe some life into the Oilers game in the next frame. Edmonton capitalized on a pair of powerplays with goals from Kailer Yamamoto and Leon Draisaitl to finish a period where they outshot the Kings 16-4 with a 3-3 tie.
The Kings pressed hard early in the third period courtesy of a couple of powerplays of their own, but the Oilers kill was up to the task. The turning point game came with under six minutes remaining when the Oilers veteran goaltender tried to do a little too much, firing a pass up the middle of the ice which was intercepted by Iafallo.
Smith was able to make the diving save on the ensuing opportunity, but the puck came back out to the point where defenceman Sean Durzi put a shot on net which deflected off Phillip Danault for the game-winning goal.
"I was just trying to make something happen," Smith said about the giveaway. "I tried to do too much in a tight game, and it ended up costing us the game. I'm obviously disappointed, but it's one game and we move on and worry about game two."
Kings Team Scope
Los Angeles could not have asked for a better Game 1 start for an "underdog" road team.
The Kings took advantage of the Oilers excitable run and gun style early in the game, catching Edmonton out of position and turning the mistake into an early scoring chance just 11 seconds into the contest.
"Our guys did a good job of just starting well," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "The veterans, the first two lines that went out to start the game and set the tone and settled everybody down. Now the kids come out and they start to play the third and fourth lines, and they feel more comfortable."
The Kings converted the early momentum into a pair of goals. First, Trevor Moore snuck in from the point and quickly snapped home an Iafallo pass for the game's opening goal 11 minutes into the first period. Iafallo would then bury his first of the playoffs 4:48 later, catching Mike Smith looking the wrong way and potting the behind-the-net feed for the 2-0 lead.
After the Oilers battled back to tie the game, the Kings retook the lead 1:11 later courtesy of Brendan Lemieux. The Kings countered the Oilers with an odd-man rush and Adrian Kempe found the trailing Lemieux wide open for the wrister from the slot. Philipp Danault added the winner on the Smith mistake to take Game 1 for the Kings.
A big credit for the Los Angeles victory goes to Jonathan Quick, who turned back the clock on Monday night. The 36-year-old stopped 36 of 39 shots and showed off his trademark flexibility on several key saves, including a two-on-one opportunity by Evander Kane.
"The guy wearing those big pads helped us when we needed him," McLellan said about Quick's performance.
The Kings were short the 20 goals and 49 points of Viktor Arvidsson, who was scratched prior to Monday's contest. It is still up in the air whether the Kings will have him for Game 2 on Wednesday night.
By The Numbers
Both Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and an assist in Game 1… The Oilers penalty kill went a perfect 4-4 while allowing 10 total shots… Edmonton is 24-13 all-time against Los Angeles in the playoffs… Six of the last seven Oilers playoff games have been decided by one goal… Edmonton is 27-18 all-time in Game 2's of the Stanley Cup Playoffs… the Oilers have scored first in an NHL Playoff Team low 33 games this season… Leon Draisaitl is fourth all-time in playoff points-per-game for the Oilers with 1.27…
Jonathan Quick needs one more goal to tie Tom Barrasso for most road playoff wins by an American-born goaltender… Quick is currently tied with Mike Richter for first all-time among US goaltenders in playoff shutouts with nine… Los Angeles is 18-22 all-time in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs… The Kings have six players currently on the roster that were on the last LA team to make the playoffs (2017-2018)… Los Angeles has the second-best road record among West teams with a .646 points percentage… Forward Phillip Danault won the most faceoffs in last season's playoffs with 273…
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Kyle Turris (back) is on IR.
KINGS - Drew Doughty (wrist) is on IR; Sean Walker (torn ACL/MCL) is on IR, Viktor Arvidsson (personal) day-to-day.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com