GAME PREVIEW: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings

-PLAYOFFS-

Round 1, Game 1

02 May 2021

rogers place

8 p.m. (Mountain Time)

Television: CBC

Radius: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Crown Jewels

IT’S TIME

The regular season is complete and the playoffs are about to begin. Edmonton takes on LA in the best-of-seven first round starting tonight. The Oilers are looking to forget about being swept in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets last season, they would like nothing more than to dominate LA on both ends of the ice. The first game of the best-of-seven round begins tonight. Can the Oilers get on the board early and often?

Let’s go to the tape.

THE OILERS ARE SAYING

“I’m excited for sure. I’m excited that our team has earned the right to be the home team in Game 1 of an NHL playoff series…I’ve been to a lot of NHL playoff games and had some good stretches in the AHL . This is the first time that I am the head coach in this situation, but I feel very prepared for it.”

Source

That’s Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft.

Tonight is Woodcroft’s first playoff game as NHL head coach. He’s done pretty well since he became Edmonton’s bench manager, going 26-9-3 in relief of Dave Tippett. After three years in Detroit as a video coach, seven years in San Jose as an assistant coach, three years as an assistant with the Oilers and more than three years as Bakersfield’s head coach, it’s time for Woodcroft to shine in the postseason.

THE KINGS SAY

“Identity, resiliency, we’ve experienced a lot of things and I think we’ve played some good hockey…we’re going to continue and try to do it the way we’ve done it.”

Source

That’s Kings head coach Todd McLellan.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a list of playoff predictions that included Los Angeles but not Las Vegas. Credit to the Kings where they deserve it: they’ve kept a lot of traffic away from their goalkeepers and when you limit chances, you limit goals against. The Kings may not have many familiar names among their defense, but there’s a reason this defense had the 11th-fewest goals allowed this season.

take some of this

• Nurse Darnell is “a game time decision” according to Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft. Nurse suffered a lower-body injury more than a week ago in a game against the Colorado Avalanche and has been out of the lineup ever since. If Nurse isn’t around tonight, he’ll likely change those pairings up a bit.
• Jesse Puljujarvi has been getting it off the chin of some of the media this week. (We’re in body language Already? It’s too early to do the Ales Hemsky thing with Puljujärvi, Jim!) That’s a shame, as Puljujärvi finished just five points behind Kailer Yamamoto this season while playing in almost 20 fewer games. Plus, there’s that whole possession-managing thing that’s pretty cool. Above the first line again, I see. All is right in the world.
• Todd McLellan returns to the postseason for the first time as the Kings’ head coach. It’s also the first time he’s returned to the postseason since he was behind the bench in Edmonton’s miracle streak of 2016-17 when Cam Talbot played like 7,300 games that year. The Oilers won a series that year, it was wild.
• Really excited to see Mike Smith start tonight, and also excited to see Smith continue his lightning .950+ SV% in May that he achieved in April. That could be a conversation question, but now is a great time for a ridiculous streak to continue. Expect Jonathan Quick for the Kings tonight, who will be playing postseason games for the first time since 2018.
• The Kings don’t have the firepower the Oilers have, but Edmonton likely has their hands full with Los Angeles’ front line. Anze Kopitar (19-48-67) and Adrian Kempe (35 goals) are a pairing that could give the Oiler defense trouble. Kopitar has assisted on 20 of Kempe’s 35 goals this year, it’s a duo that gets it done. Andreas Athanasiou (10-13-23 in 47 GPs) may not have a flashy points total, but he is a speedy winger who will look to expose a flat-footed defender.
• The first game is tonight. LFG.