POST-GAME: Campbell comes up huge in relief appearance
Goaltender makes 27 saves on 28 shots including a momentous pad stop on Viktor Arvidsson to help the Oilers come back to win Game 4 in overtime
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
LOS ANGELES, CA - Jay Woodcroft knew his team needed a spark.
Trailing the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 through 20 minutes on Sunday and facing a potential 3-1 series deficit if they were to ultimately lose the game, the head coach and his staff decided to replace starting netminder Stuart Skinner with Jack Campbell to begin the middle frame.
The 31-year-old veteran went on to turn aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced as the Oilers scored three goals in the second period to tie the game, got another equalizing tally from Evander Kane late in the third, and evened the series at 2-2 in overtime thanks to the heroics of Zach Hyman.
"I've constantly touted that we have a good goaltending tandem," Woodcroft said. "I have belief in both of our goaltenders, and that's not assigning any blame on Stuart for the way the first period went, but I felt that our team needed a little bit of a change in momentum to give us a different kind of look."
Campbell's crowing moment in the resplendent relief performance came with 5:48 remaining in the third period and the Oilers still trailing 4-3 after Matt Roy got the only puck past the Edmonton netminder 4:28 into the final frame.
The Kings were pushing hard for an insurance marker and a steal by Phillip Danault in the neutral zone led to a partial breakaway for Viktor Arvidsson. The winger faked a wrist shot, deked to his backhand and then quickly moved back to his forehand, but Campbell stayed with him the whole way and stretched out his left pad to deny the attempt.
GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Kings 4 (OT - Game 4)
Hyman was the hero on Sunday, scoring the sudden-death winner to turn the first-round series into a best-of-three starting Tuesday in Edmonton
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Oilers needed a hero and his name was Zachary Martin Hyman.
Edmonton erased 3-0 and 4-3 deficits to earn a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory in Game 4 on the road against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, tying their first-round series at 2-2 and creating a best-of-three scenario starting Tuesday back at Rogers Place.
Hyman scored the sudden-death winner at 10:39 of the first OT frame, receiving a stretch pass from Evan Bouchard and sniping a wrist shot under the blocker-side arm of Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo for his well-timed first goal of his playoffs.
"It's my first overtime playoff winner, so probably the most important goal in my career to date," Hyman said following the thrilling finish to even the series.
PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Kings (Game 4)
Edmonton aims to even up their first-round series at 2-2 when they take on the Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena
by Michael Arcuri & Ryan Frankson @EdmontonOilers / EdmontonOilers.com
The Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their first-round series on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 6:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.
BLOG: Oilers preaching persistence and patience
Edmonton has been the better team on paper in their first-round series with the Kings, but it's time for the in-game numbers to translate to the scoreboard
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
LOS ANGELES, CA - Three games, four even-strength goals.
For a team that led the NHL in overall scoring with 325 goals and ranked fifth in five-on-five markers with 192, it's been a frusrating series offensively so far for the Oilers against the Los Angeles Kings.
Despite outshooting their Pacific Division rivals 98-63 and having an 8.8-to-5.7 expected-goals ratio during five-on-five play in the series, the Oilers find themselves trailing the best-of-seven battle 2-1, with Game 4 on the schedule for Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
During Saturday's media availability, the players and Head Coach Jay Woodcroft preached persistence and patience that their offensive efforts will soon pay dividends.
"I think you can be patient, and we're a patient group," Woodcroft said. "I think if you looked at the scoring chances, it's not close. Can we bear down in certain situations? Yeah, we can.
"Keep hammering away at the rock, and we know it'll split eventually... We think if we continue to stack good things on top of good things over the long haul, which is what we're prepared for, the right team comes out on top."
GAME RECAP: Kings 3, Oilers 2 (OT - Game 3)
McDavid scores twice but Moore tallies the sudden-death winner as Los Angeles now leads the best-of-seven first-round series 2-1
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
LOS ANGELES, CA - For the second time in three games, the Los Angeles Kings scored the winning goal on the power play in overtime and now hold a 2-1 lead in their first-round series with a 3-2 victory over the Oilers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Trevor Moore scored 3:24 into the first sudden-death frame to give the home side the win, despite a lengthy review as the officials checked the replays to determine whether the sequence should have been blown dead due to a Kings high stick. In the end, the call on the ice was upheld and Edmonton was dealt the tough defeat with Game 4 slated for Sunday.
The Oilers trail in the series despite leading for 107:26 of it, compared to 8:15 for the Kings with their OT winners in Games 1 and 3. The teams have been tied for 77:02.
"It's a tight-checking series, we've said that all along," said Connor McDavid, who scored both Oilers goals in the loss. "We knew that. It's little breaks here and there, it's little calls here and there. We haven't seemed to get many of the bounces. We had our looks, we had our chances, and they find a way to get a power play and score in overtime. That's just the way it is, playoff hockey."
PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Kings (Game 3)
Tied one game apiece, the series shifts to Los Angeles and Crypto.com Arena for Game 3 on Friday night
by Jamie Umbach & Ryan Frankson @EdmontonOilers / EdmontonOilers.com
The Edmonton Oilers continue their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Los Angeles Kings with Game 3 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet and CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.
GAME RECAP: Oilers 7, Golden Knights 4
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins records a goal and four assists to lead Edmonton to a clean sweep of their road back-to-back and bring them within three points of first place in the Pacific
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
LAS VEGAS, NV - It was a performance 11 and a half years in the making for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
The longest-tenured Oilers player recorded his second-career five-point night -- his first coming way back during his rookie season on Nov. 19, 2011 against the Chicago Blackhawks -- as Edmonton completed the sweep of their road back-to-back with a convincing 7-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ten different Oilers reached the scoresheet on Tuesday and three (Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid) had multi-point efforts as Edmonton climbed within three points of Vegas for first place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers are also just one point behind Los Angeles for second spot after the Kings were edged 2-1 by the Calgary Flames earlier in the evening.
The Blue & Orange return home to face the Kings on Thursday at Rogers Place.
"We know who we're playing, we know where they're at in the standings, we know where we're at and we're still pushing for home ice," Nugent-Hopkins said of the playoff implications.
"I think that does make a difference come playoff time. So I thought it was a great job. Obviously they took two points (in overtime on Saturday). We just got the one a couple of nights ago in our building, so we wanted to respond and did a great job tonight."
GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Coyotes 4
Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl and Bouchard each record a goal and an assist as Edmonton outlasts Arizona on Monday night at Mullett Arena
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
TEMPE, AZ - The Oilers received a passing grade on their trip to college on Monday, edging the Coyotes in a 5-4 thriller at Arizona State University's Mullett Arena.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins buried the eventual game-winning goal on the power play with just under eight minutes remaining in the third period, as he joined Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard as Oilers with two-point performances in the first leg of a road back-to-back that will conclude on Tuesday in Vegas.
Heading into Monday's game, the Coyotes had a 6-0-2 record in their last eight games at the 4,600-seat rink -- most of which was filled with Blue & Orange faithful on this night -- but the Oilers were able to hand them their first home regulation loss since March 3.
"I felt a little different in that building, but we said this morning it didn't matter where we played the game," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said after the win.
"Tonight it was more about trying to find a way to win. Win the game, get two points in a tough building versus the team that only lost one time in regulation in their last 10. There were moments in the game where we can better, but we found a way to win. That's a good sign."
PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Coyotes
The Oilers will clash with the Coyotes for the second time in a week when the two sides face off at Mullett Arena in Arizona on Monday night
by Michael Arcuri & Ryan Frankson @EdmontonOilers / EdmontonOilers.com
The Edmonton Oilers begin a quick two-game road trip with a stop at Mullett Arena for a Monday night matchup against the Arizona Coyotes.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.
GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Kraken 4
Kane's hat-trick powers the visitors to victory in Seattle as Edmonton extends its lead to three points over the divisional rival in the Pacific standings
by Ryan Frankson @RyanFrankson / EdmontonOilers.com
SEATTLE, WA - Evander Kane scored his sixth-career regular season hat-trick to lead the Oilers to an important divisional win over the Kraken on Saturday afternoon in Seattle.
Heading into the matinee matchup at Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken sat just one point back of Edmonton for third place in the Pacific, but the 6-4 triumph allowed the Oilers to extend their lead to three as they reached the 70-game mark of the campaign.