PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Kings (Game 3)

The first-round series between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings shifts to California and Crypto.com Arena on Friday for Game 3 after the sides split the opening two games at Rogers Place.
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 3 vs LAK 05.06.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 3 at LAK
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Zack Kassian
PRE-GAME RAW | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
RECENT VIDEOS
RAW | Coach Woodcroft 05.05.22
RAW | Evan Bouchard 05.05.22
RAW | Ryan McLeod 05.05.22
OILERS TODAY | Post-Game 2 vs. LAK
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Kings Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Follow the leaders
BLOG: Starting strong on special teams
BLOG: Condors bound for second round
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Friday's game on Sportsnet & CBC at 8:00 PM MT.
News and notes following Edmonton's 6-0 shutout victory in Game 2 at Rogers Place on Wednesday night.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Oilers made a statement to both the Los Angeles Kings and themselves on Wednesday.
The team evened up their first-round series with an exclamation point in a 6-0 Game 2 victory at Rogers Place, snapping a seven-game playoff losing streak that dated back to the 2020 summer bubble qualifying round against the Chicago Blackhawks and included last year's four-game sweep at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets.
"Coming off last year's playoffs not winning a game, it's nice to break the seal," said Ryan McLeod, who wasn't on the team when they played Chicago but witnessed first-hand the disappointment and frustration last year against the Jets. "I'm looking forward to next game. We're rolling pretty well so everyone's excited."
Next game has arrived tonight at Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA as a 2-1 series lead is up for grabs for the victors in what has now become a best-of-five after the split in Edmonton.
PLAYING LIGHTS OUT
There was a little playoff gamesmanship during Friday's morning skate as the Crypto.com Arena staff kept the lights off in the bowl until a few minutes before Edmonton's scheduled ice time at 11:30am PT, despite many Oilers players hitting the ice and looking to get an early jump on the session.
"It's the game within the game, it's fun," laughed Zack Kassian. "It's their arena, they can do what they want. We just waited it out. We knew the lights were going to come on eventually."
Video: PRE-RAW | Zack Kassian 05.06.22
Since the Kings held their morning session at their practice facility in El Segundo, the Oilers were the only team scheduled to skate downtown on Friday.
"That's called mood lighting," the LA Kings Twitter account quipped in response to a tweet from TSN's Ryan Rishaug that included a video of the dim bowl.
LET'S GET PHYSICAL
In addition to out-scoring the Kings 6-0 and out-shooting them 36-30 in Game 2, the Oilers out-hit their opponents 48-46, including an especially physical middle frame that, not surprisingly, coincided with their first three goals of the night.
"You want to play every team physical and make it a tough night on their d-men turning for pucks, going back and knowing they're going to get finished," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of his team's tenacious forecheck. "That wears teams down, wears individuals down. That was our mindset last game, it was a good response after Game 1, and we have to have that same mindset tonight."
Video: PRE-RAW | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 05.06.22
The veteran forward, not typically known for being a physical force on the ice, delivered four hits on Wednesday, the same total as fellow first-overall pick Connor McDavid. Kassian, who led the way with six hits, said it's always a good sign when the big point producers are also laying the body.
"If you look around the league, even skill guys are being more physical," he said. "You don't see that in the regular season. It's just the way the playoffs are. Everyone is so dedicated to the details of the game that you're going to need it from the top part of your lineup to the bottom. Physicality has been in the playoffs for a very long time and I don't see that changing any time soon."
Coach Woodcroft also pointed out that playing physical isn't just about delivering hits.
"We're at our best when we are physical," he said. "Physicality is establishing yourself in the faceoff circle, it's making a good play along the wall, it's guaranteeing different lines on the ice, it's going to the net with authority, it's playing inside people's equipment. It's not just scrums, it's not just finishing your check. It's all those types of situations, and for us we pride ourselves on those moments within hockey games."
RUNNING ON DUNCAN
The defence pairing of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci averaged the most ice time for the Oilers during the regular season, as the two players logged 25:03 and 20:54, respectively.
However, with Nurse absent from the final four games before the playoffs with a lower-body injury, Ceci missing some time at the start of the third period on Wednesday, and the score tilted in Edmonton's favour, the pairing of Duncan Keith and Evan Bouchard stepped up to lead the way in Game 2. The youngster led the team at 22:01 while his veteran partner wasn't far behind at 21:14.
Video: RAW | Evan Bouchard 05.05.22
Bouchard, who leads the team in ice time among blueliners through two playoff games at 20:29, credited his partnership with the three-time Stanley Cup champion, 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Norris Trophy recipient for some of his increased confidence and responsibility.
"You can't really say enough good things about him," the 22-year-old said. "He's a great leader, a great help with me on the ice, and the way he's playing is top notch. He's a big reason for the success we're having right now and showing why he's won so many awards, won it all and can do it all.
"You see the hard work it takes to win playoff games. To be doing it for this long, you have that much more appreciation towards him. It makes everyone else want to play harder."
Coach Woodcroft echoed Bouchard's sentiments that the organization's decision to acquire Keith via trade with the Blackhawks last summer is paying dividends so far in the playoffs.
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 05.06.22
"Duncan Keith is a champion and he's a champion for a reason," Woodcroft said. "His play stands out, his words carry weight in the locker room, he's a big part of our leadership group, and these are the times you need someone with that level of experience. He's done a good job for us so far."
The bench boss also raved about Keith's young D partner's progression of late.
"I've really seen progression in Bouchard's game," Woodcroft said of the former London Knight who was named Ontario Hockey League Defenceman of the Year in 2018-19.
"He passes the puck great, gets his shot through from the point, but he's also someone who's defended a lot harder as time has gone on here. Him and Keith complement each other, they have a good relationship, they talk the game through, and they've been a real reliable group for us on the back end."
CLOUDY FORECAST
Another up-and-coming player who spent time with Woodcroft in AHL Bakersfield is McLeod, who had the pleasure of scoring his first-career playoff goal on Wednesday with two special fans in attendance.
"It was crazy," McLeod smiled, toothless of course, when asked about his second-period deflection on a point shot by Bouchard. "It was a really cool memory and I had my parents in the stands too."
Video: RAW | Ryan McLeod 05.05.22
The 22-year-old posted a goal and an assist in Game 2 while spending nearly 40 percent of his ice time on special teams -- 2:51 on the PP and 2:47 shorthanded of his 15:03 total -- speaking to his flexibility.
"He's a big factor in the way the penalty kill has turned a corner here over the last six weeks or so," Woodcroft said. "He plays on the power play and has found a way to be effective there. And he has a versatility to him that allows me to move him to left wing, right wing, centre, first line, fourth line. It doesn't matter. I feel good when Ryan McLeod is on the ice and I can move him anywhere."
-- Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. KINGS (Game 3)
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet & CBC
Oilers Team Scope
A 6-0 shutout victory over the Kings in Game 2 on Wednesday brought out the best in the Oilers, who harnessed the excitement in Rogers Place into a complete rebound effort driven by their physicality, special teams and their leaders after falling in the series opener on Monday.
Mike Smith responded from a mistake late in Game 1 with 30 saves, earning his fifth career shutout in the playoffs, and Evander Kane broke out for the first time this post-season with two goals and an assist.
Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with Edmonton's fourth power-play goal in eight opportunities this series, while defenceman Darnell Nurse scored his first career playoff goal shorthanded for an Oilers penalty kill that's a perfect 8-for-8 through the opening two games.
Kane tied Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid with four hits on the night behind team leaders Zack Kassian (6) and Josh Archibald (5). But for Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, their physicality stretches far beyond just finishing checks.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Post-Game 2 vs LAK
The Oilers won 56 per cent of their draws, excelled in their cycle down low, line matched the Kings well, and played in their opponents' equipment while not allowing time for their defenders to make plays with hard forechecking.
"For us, we pride ourselves on those moments within hockey games," Woodcroft said from the team hotel in LA on Thursday.
After rebounding in Game 2, the emphasis will be on recharging to deploy a similar style of hockey game in Game 3 on Friday and take the series lead.
"We had a good evening in Game 2, but as I said the other day, that game is done and finished with. Our focus and our concentration is on making sure we're regenerated and we're feeling good heading into Game 3."
Kings Team Scope
Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for the Kings in Wednesday's shutout defeat to the Oilers in Game 2, while Trevor Moore tried to match a physical Oilers team with a game-high eight hits after recording a goal and two assists in Game 1.
Los Angeles was stifled by the Oilers special teams, having been unable to convert on a man advantage this series and conceding a shorthanded goal while being only 50 per cent on the penalty kill on eight kills across the two games.
"We didn't play hard enough, really," captain Anze Kopitar said. "We got some power-play opportunities, and we couldn't convert and they did. It was a big turning point in the game and we couldn't really get going."
"They've got a good power play and they were cashing in on it tonight," Kings defenceman Matt Roy said. "A penalty right off the hop in the second and a shorthanded goal there. It's tough to come back from there."
Head Coach Todd McLellan will hope Wednesday serves as a wake-up call for his team whose experience level ranges from veterans of the playoffs to rookies making their first foray into the post-season. McLellan will wait and see if forward Viktor Arvidsson will be back in the lineup as well after the Swede missed his second consecutive game after having not skated with the Kings since Saturday.
"Sometimes you tip your hat to the opposition, they played a really good game," McLellan said. "Secondly, that's called 'experience' tonight. A lot of guys had their eyes opened up in terms of what playoffs is all about, and others were reminded to what playoffs are all about. It happens in series. It happens more often than you think. We have to go home now, recover, get some rest and we can play better than that, we know that."
By The Numbers
The Oilers scored six or more goals in a shutout win for the second time in franchise history (vs. LA in Game 1 of 1990 the Division Finals)... The Oilers scored all six goals in Game 2 in the second period or later, while scoring at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded... It was the first time they have scored an ES, PPG and SHG in a single period of a playoff game since the third period in Game of the 2006 Conference Semifinals...
Darnell Nurse became the seventh different defenceman in franchise history to score a shorthanded goal in the playoffs (first since Steve Smith in Game 4 of the 1990 Division Semifinal)... Mike Smith snapped a 10-game losing skid in the playoffs in Game 2 and recorded the 10th instance in NHL history of a goalie aged 40 or older recording a shutout in a playoff game (first since Dwayne Roloson in Game 7 of the 2011 Conference Quarterfinals)... Each of his last three wins in the playoffs have been shutouts (four of last five wins have been shutouts)...
The Oilers snapped a seven-game losing skid in the playoffs with their shutout win in Game 2... The Oilers improved to 19-2 in their last 21 Game 2's when playing at home... The Oilers are 15-6 all-time in best-of-seven series when the series is tied 1-1 (6-2 when starting series at home)... The Oilers look to avoid losing four consecutive Game 3's for the first time as a franchise and are 11-10 all-time in Game 3's played on the road in a best-of-seven series... The Kings have won three of their last four Game 3's but have lost three of their last four Game 3's when playing at home...
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) is day-to-day.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com