Angeles Analysis – R1, G3

I mean, what a night, Insiders.

There were a lot of unknowns coming into Game 3. Could the Kings offer more off the opening puck drop, after two tough starts in Edmonton? Would a change of scenery to Crypto.com Arena help the group? Could they score first and play with a lead? How would they overcome the loss of their energizer bunny, Blake Lizotte? How would Gabe Vilardi fare at center, his first game in the middle since 2021? Could the Kings get more from a fourth line that gave up two goals in Game 2, with new pieces? Would the Kings hold Connor McDavid off the scoresheet again and if they didn’t, could they overcome it? Would they have an answer for Leon Draisaitl, the most impactful Edmonton player in Games 1 and 2?

Questions I think we were all asking in one form or another, entering the third game of a 1-1 series.

We got answers to each of those questions in Game 3 and they weren’t even all positive ones. Enough were though and it gave the Kings a 3-2 overtime victory and a 2-1 lead in the Best of 7 series.

As has been the case throughout this series, we saw a tightly contested game go down to the wire. How thick is the line separating a 3-0 series from a 0-3 series? I don’t think it’s all that wide at all. The Kings and Oilers have been that close through three games and once again, an opportunistic Kings power play made the difference as the Kings converted with the man advantage in overtime to secure the victory. Both wins have come 5-on-4 in extra time and that’s how you take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Special teams a season ago could not have been more one sided. The Kings aren’t even here to win on special teams, they’re just looking to be even. Through three games, they’ve matched the Oilers 4-4, which has put them in a good position.

To answer what I believed was the most pressing question after Games 1 and 2, the Kings started the game much, much better in Game 3. Like exponentially better. Though they took an early minor penalty, they got a penalty kill after Phillip Danault was called for tripping inside the game’s first minute. Todd McLellan believes the team was able to feed off of that sequence. They took that momentum and played with physicality. They won battles. They fed off of the atmosphere. They took the game to their opposition for the first time in the series in the first period, especially in the offensive zone. At 5-on-5, the shot attempts last night read +4 in favor of the Kings through 20 minutes. They were a net -16 during the first two games of the series.

“Last game, they were a lot more physical than us and it got their building going, so that was kind of our talk before the game as well, not to just do that but to still stay in our positions and our structure, forward Adrian Kempe said. “It’s something we talked about doing before and everyone did a good job of it last night.”

All extremely positive things for this group and I think it was important to see that from the Kings early. Important to show they have that it in their game and it was more reminiscent of how the group played down the stretch in the regular season. From the trade deadline on, the Kings allowed just 15 goals in the first period, the fewest in the Western Conference. In that stretch, they suppressed chances and goals against early in games as well as any team in the league, stemming from their style of play. Very encouraging to see that reappear last night.

That’s not to say it was all perfect though and perhaps that what makes this win all the better.

The Kings were dinged for a pair of goals by forward Connor McDavid, his first two tallies of the series. McDavid was clearly knocking on the door, as his 12 scoring chances between Games 1 and 2 combined were one shy of the NHL lead in that span. He was effective with regards to chance creation throughout the two games in Edmonton, but it was Leon Draisaitl’s three goals that stung on the scoreboard. In Game 3, McDavid got his, with a pair of power-play goals in the second period, plays you really cant do that much about. The dude is that good and from almost the exact same area on the ice, he beat you with two different shots. Everyone knew he would get his at some point in the series. They Kings found a way to pick up the win anyways and that speaks volumes.

“It takes a lot of work to play against those two, and you have to remember the guys that are playing with them are pretty damn good players too,” Todd McLellan said. “We use the word hurt, and I think you’re only talking about the scoresheet, there are a lot of other things that those two do that make it hard on us and we’re aware of those things. We have to keep doing what we’re doing and in fact, we have to get better.”

Looking at the larger picture, the Kings had a series split coming in and we had not seen the best version of a complete 60 minutes. Now, the Kings have a 2-1 series lead and we still haven’t seen their best, complete 60 minutes. In those situations a season ago, the Kings lost in a lopsided gameflow. This season they’ve won two of the three games contested. Speaks volumes.

Kings are on the ice now, as they hold their practice day in between Games 3 and 4. A certain gentleman has joined the group in a non-contact red jersey……… full coverage to follow here from TSPC!